Strange New Vistas
by shutupfrenchie
Summary: They stumbled and jerked their way down the street, eyes wide and vacant, smiles stretching unnaturally across their faces. Judy was told as soon as she was old enough to understand, NEVER talk to the smilers.
1. Chapter 1

They stumbled and jerked their way down the street, eyes wide and vacant, smiles stretching unnaturally across their faces. Judy was told as soon as she was old enough to understand, _never_ talk to the smilers.

So of course when she turned 10 and was allowed to play outside by herself - "_only_ during daylight hours" Maki reminded her often- she would watch for the smilers and try to sneak in a quick conversation before one of her moms noticed and dragged her inside. The only time she was successful was when Jess happened by.

Judy saw her near the library first, staggering and stumbling her way across the neighborhood. Occasionally she would stop, contort her body impossibly, and the dusty wind would carry her guttural, pained grunts to where Judy sat perched on her monkey bars. She narrowed her eyes and watched, hoping…

And Jess did stay on trajectory to pass right in front of Judy's house. If she could cut her off at the corner she could probably… well, she wasn't sure exactly _what_ to expect. The Smilers never seemed violent, but she'd never directly interacted with one before. Tossed rocks at them from her bedroom window, sure, but spoken to one? Never.

Trying to steady her shaking body, Judy hopped down from the monkey bars and made her way to the corner. She watched Jess take stiff-legged step after step and finally come to a stop just in front of Judy.

Judy looked up; her usually kind-faced neighbor now looked manic and threatening. One eye stared into Judy's while the other rolled to the left, searching for the skittering lizard she'd heard.

"Jess…?" Judy started uncertainly. "Can you hear me? I know it's still-"

Suddenly Jess blurted nonsense, flailed her limbs and shoved her face close to Judy's. Judy gasped, stumbled backwards. Then she stepped forward again.

"I know it's still you!" Judy shouted. She grabbed the woman's shoulders and shook. "I know you're in there, Jess!"

And Jess's face relaxed. She shook her head lightly, looked down at the little girl and her brow furrowed.

"I… I'm sorry, what were we talking about?" she asked, sounding like she'd just woken up from a long nap. "You're… you're the neighbor girl."

"Judy," she supplied with a smile. "And you're Jess."

Jess chuckled.

"I wonder how you found that out, little sleuth?"

Judy shrugged, embarrassed but pleased at the term of endearment. Her cheeks flushed pink and she kicked the sand awkwardly.

"I just… heard your husband yelling it a few times…"

Jess' face fell.

"Oh," she said. "Well, yes that's. Yeah. That uh, happens. Listen, Judy, it was so nice to finally meet you. I should get home. I don't even know what time it is, Christie might be home from school soon-"

Judy frowned as Jess retreated. It was summer vacation… Christie had been home all day, playing in her own yard while her father popped his head out occasionally to yell at her not to mess up the 'lawn.' As if anyone in Strangerville had a 'lawn' to speak of. A few scattered cacti in rocky hard sand wasn't a 'lawn' in Judy's book, and as she watched Jess cross the road home, she thought to herself that she didn't like Dylan Sigworth one bit.

* * *

The years crawled by, and Judy's fascination with Strangerville only grew stronger. She'd snapped Jess out of her spell that day, but that night when the Smilers started up again there was Jess, marching right along. She knew it had to do with the strange purple plants growing everywhere. There was even one in their own side yard, which she was expressly forbidden from touching. Sometimes she would inch her way closer and closer, watching the door for a mom to pop out and stop her, but none ever did, nor did she ever actually touch it.

It made her uneasy. The sound it emitted, the glow it put off, the pulsating heartbeat showing through thin purple skin… she shuddered.

As she sat cross-legged in front of it, contemplating, the Sigworth's car pulled into the driveway. Jess jumped out and waved at Judy. Judy smiled, waved back, and her heart fluttered nervously.

She was 17 now, and ever since that day 7 years ago she'd jumped at every chance to talk to Jess, though she couldn't put her finger on _why_ until recently.

"Judy, can you come here for a minute?" Jess called. And Judy was there in seconds. She didn't even think to ask permission. She was 17, as far as she was concerned she didn't need permission for anything ever again. Her moms might think differently, but at the moment she was willing to face their wrath for this chance. It didn't happen often.

"Hi Jess," she said a little too eagerly. She calmed herself, tried again. "What do you need?"

"Well, Dylan is driving Christie to summer camp this morning," Jess started. "And I just got back from grocery shopping. Would you like to earn a few simoleons and help me carry it in?"

"You don't have to pay me," Judy said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'll do it just to help."

"Oh Judy, that's sweet," Jess said. "But I have to give you something for your time… I just made a fruitcake last night. How about you help for a slice of that? It's an old family recipe."

"That sounds great," Judy agreed. So together they got the considerable load of groceries inside in two trips. Impressive, considering it was a month's worth of shopping.

After, they sat together at the kitchen table, Judy with a slice of fruitcake and Jess watching expectantly.

"This is..." Judy paused, swallowed hard, willing the lump of cake to drop into her stomach. "Great. Could I possibly have some milk?"

"Of course," Jess smiled and walked to the fridge. Judy grimaced and tried massaging her stomach where the cake was stuck. Finally, the lump broke free and she let out a sigh of relief. She watched her neighbor reach for a glass from a high shelf in the cabinets; one leg lifted adorably as she did. Judy looked away quickly.

"Uh. Can I use your bathroom?" she asked, suddenly feeling several shades of uncomfortable.

"No problem," Jess said. "It's the first door down the hall."

In the bathroom, Judy stared herself down in the mirror. She felt too small for her lanky body all of a sudden, and her heart fluttered every time she thought of Jess. When she first started wondering about Strangerville, it was a gnawing curiosity but now… now it was a need to not only understand, but to solve. Jess still went into trances, often. Jess needed help.

She'd heard whispers of the secret lab in the crater outside town. She knew Jess worked at the military base that served as a security check for the lab. It would make sense that she'd picked up whatever this was from there, right? The lab was abandoned, but even still there had to be security, right? And who knew what they would do to her if they caught her... But if Jess needed her, she would sneak in the place tonight. In fact, she thought she might. She made up her mind as she was washing her hands that yes, she _would_ sneak in tonight.

She could bring her mom's old camera to capture evidence, if she got that far. Evidence of what, she wasn't sure, but she knew she had to figure it out. For Jess... and, she supposed, everyone else in town.

So with her mind made up she dried her hands and headed back to the kitchen. The first thing she noticed was the tipped over carton with milk spilled out over the countertop. A glass sat shattered next to it. Jess stood still, arms at her side, neck wrenched uncomfortably to the side.

"Jess…." Judy approached slowly, not wanting to startle her. "If this is a joke, it's not funny…"

At the sound of her voice Jess whipped around, arms dangling, eyes wide and mouth grinning impossibly. She let out a strangled yell and turned to face Judy entirely.

"Come on, snap out of it," Judy pleaded as Jess slowly stumbled forward. She readied herself; she wasn't sure if she would stop her march when she reached her, but she was planning a tackle either way.

When Jess came out of it this time, she immediately broke down in tears.

"Why does it keep happening?" she asked, avoiding looking at the girl holding her shoulders and watching her forlornly. "The things I hear… the voices in my head- oh god I'm insane."

"No, Jess, no," Judy squeezed, and Jess met her eyes. "You're not insane. And you're not the only one this happens to. I watch a parade of people acting just like this, every night.. I think it has something to do with the lab in the crater. They're all military and scientists... You work at the military base, right? I bet you picked up an infection from there. You're not insane."

Jess wiped her eyes and laughed a watery laugh.

"You really are a little sleuth," she chuckled. " No one's supposed to know about that lab."

"The bar is a pretty loud place but there could always be some snot nosed kid in the corner with a modified hearing aid," Judy said with a shrug. "Maybe people with classified information shouldn't talk about it in public."

For a second, Jess stared blankly. But then she laughed. And laughed and laughed and finally pulled Judy into a tight hug.

"Unbelievable," she muttered. "A snot nosed kid is going to save us all."

"Oh… company?" a voice called from the front doorway. "I didn't think you'd have anyone over, Jess… oh it's her."

Dylan Sigworth stood in the kitchen doorway, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Judy.

Over the years he'd made it clear that he didn't like Judy's family for two reasons. He was quiet about his distaste for Judy's two mothers, and louder about his suspicions that Tali was an alien. Luckily everyone wrote it off as an insane conspiracy theory, but when Judy was 4 and allowed to play outside with supervision, Tali 'suggested' she disguise her skin as something more normal. She missed the lilac purple of her old skin sometimes but what she had now matched her other mom, Maki- a porcelain, smooth white. She was pleased to have kept her freckles at least.

"She helped me bring in groceries," Jess explained, pulling away from the hug. "I got her fruitcake and… oh the milk…"

For the first time Jess noticed the mess she'd made. Dylan sighed deeply, stepped further into the kitchen.

"You can't just… pour a glass of milk, huh Jess?" he asked as he retrieved towels from the cupboard under the sink.

"I'll clean it up, Dylan, just-"

"No, _I'll_ clean it up," he huffed. "Just like I do everything else around here while you're too busy off running around like a wide eyed freak."

"I don't _want_ to be a wide eyed freak," Jess argued back. "You don't think I would change it if I could?"

"You put yourself at risk by going anywhere near that stuff," he growled as he sopped the milk up. "Once again you put your job before your husband and child."

"Dylan-"

"You can't even pour milk anymore," he roared, picking up the shattered remains of the glass and hurling it against the far wall. Judy flinched, but Jess barely reacted, just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as if it was something that happened every day.

"That was my fault," Judy piped up. "I scared her. I didn't mean to make her spill it, I just… thought it would be funny."

"Get out of my house," Dylan sighed. His hand bled openly, and he hardly seemed to notice. "Get out of my house and away from my wife. It's your kind that did this to her and I don't want you messing with her mind more-" Judy shot Jess an apologetic look and slipped out the front door, running home with tears filling her eyes.

She burst into her own house, ignoring her parents' greetings to go straight into her room. She sat on the bed, pouted for a second, then without warning broke down in full, body wracking sobs.

It was part frustration, part disgust. Disgust at herself for running and leaving Jess to deal with Dylan on her own, and frustration that no matter how much she wished it, things would never be different. Judy would never be good enough and Jess would never be hers. For just a second, the selfish brat hidden deep down inside of her thought about dropping the whole thing. Packing up, running away from this weird little town, where she had no friends and where everyone was distrustful of strangers- and Judy was always a stranger. The only one who had ever been friendly to her was Jess.

She lay back on the bed, sighed deeply. She thought she should nap now so she would have plenty of energy later that night to poke around the lab. She drifted off into a fitful sleep, dreaming of purple glowing plants and a crater being engulfed by a darkness so impossibly absent that it bled the essence of the town around it. A tainted city full of mindless, stumbling zombies and in the middle of it all stood Jess, crying silently while the Smiler version of herself crept up behind.

* * *

Judy woke up just before the first blow, soaked in sweat, dry throat gasping for air. She flailed around for her phone; 10 pm. _Perfect_. She popped open her door cautiously and looked around. 3 cats strewn over the couch deep in sleep, no parents to be found. _Perfect_. She took a quick trip to the bathroom first, washed her sweaty face and hyped herself up in the mirror. Next she crept to the fridge and grabbed a water bottle and packed herself a lunch, as she hadn't eaten since the fruitcake. Back to her room where she changed into all black, and finally- this was the scary part- into her parents' room to get the camera from the closet. She prayed it still worked and could still hold a charge. She prayed she wouldn't trip over something with her stupid gangly legs and wake up the whole house.

She crept out of the house 10 minutes later, backpack heavy with supplies, camera charging from a power bank alongside her ham sandwich and now lukewarm water. It was a long trek to the crater.

She spotted the military base around 11 and decided to give it a wide berth. It was buzzing with activity, trucks rumbling in and out, spotlights sweeping the perimeter. But she felt renewed; seeing the base meant she was more than halfway there.

In another half hour she was at the crater. It occurred to her how strange it was that they would bother to funnel personnel through the military base, but not set up any security around the crater. The only entrance seemed to be a tunnel going in the towering lip of the crater; Judy proceeded cautiously, expecting at every step to be stopped, but strangely there was nothing and no one.

When she reached the end it became apparent why there wasn't much security; the place had clearly been evacuated unexpectedly. A fence surrounded the lab itself, but a section of it had been knocked out by a fleeing cargo truck. As she stepped through the gap, she had the eerie feeling that she was the only human being around for miles, but not alone.

The ground itself seemed to pulsate with energy; she could almost feel it rippling against her feet, could feel it in the air. A dry wind kicked up and stirred the dusty ground, and she smelled… _something_. Some unidentifiable, unpleasant smell. Like the air just before a good rain but more musky and somehow alien.

To her surprise, the lab was unlocked. She walked right in, and found herself in what was left of the break room. She stood blinking for a few seconds, trying to get used to the dark. Slowly she began to make out shapes; a table with chairs pushed out from it, one tipped over. A counter with food from who knows how long ago rotting away. It was definitely evacuated in a hurry. Her mind raced, her heart thudded in her chest and for the first time she stopped to wonder if whatever had scared them off was still here.

Getting in was too easy; there had to be a reason.

She swore under her breath, straining her ears for any clue. There was nothing but the ever-present thrum of some far off electronics and machinery, and her own nervous breathing.

So, gathering all the courage she had in her, Judy made her way further into the lab.

There wasn't much to be found; a locked desk drawer which Judy tried unsuccessfully to pick. An old computer which surprisingly still turned on even after 20 years sitting unused, but whose drive had been wiped. A thumb drive caked with dirt and dust. A few unimportant looking papers sitting out on a desk… she was just about to toss the papers back on the table where she found them but a familiar name caught her attention; Jess Sigworth.

She looked again; it was a list of those caught in the 'initial blast' and considered 'potentially terminal.'

Her heart dropped, and her head spun with worry. She folded the paper and tucked it into her bag before moving on to the next room; this was clearly the main room. A large, reinforced door covered in caution tape took up most of the wall across from the main entrance. Judy approached it carefully; her skin prickled uncomfortably at the sensation of energy in the air. It was strong here.

The door seemed to be able to be opened with some kind of card, judging by the scanner at waist height. As she knelt examining it, she sighed in frustration. She suddenly felt so in over her head, just a kid taking on something well out of her league. As always. Anger welled up in her chest; she stood, kicked the door, groaned. But she remembered the paper in her bag and softened instantly. Jess needed to know.

She explored a little more, took a few last pictures, used the restroom and finished her sandwich and, at 2:00 in the morning, left the lab behind. As she climbed out of the crater, her mind carefully catalogued everything she'd found; a hasty, reckless evacuation. A list of everyone initially exposed, which included Jess. A door that required a keycard to access. An excess of the strange plants, and an old thumb drive with dirt caked inside of it.

She had to talk to Jess.

* * *

As it happened, she found Jess just outside the library, standing still with her head back, staring openly at the stars. Arms slack at her sides, occasionally twitching and jerking just the slightest bit. Judy approached cautiously, making sure to come to her from the front so as not to startle her. Jess hardly noticed her presence anyway, her eyes empty and glazed.

"Jess…" Judy said, gently, kindly. "It's me... it's Judy."

She didn't reply except to let out a strangled, pained moan.

"Jess…" Judy reached out, gently took her hands, squeezed. "Look at me."

The woman surprisingly did so; she looked blankly into Judy's eyes. Vacant. Judy shivered, but reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair out of Jess' face.

And Jess blinked. Her smile faded, and she blinked several more times, shook her head.

"Did it happen again?" she groaned as she rubbed her eyes and licked her dry, cracked lips.

"Yeah," Judy regretfully confirmed. "Jess… we need to talk. This is going to sound crazy but we need to go somewhere really private."

"What?" Jess asked, voice thick with confusion. "Judy what's-"

"I went to the lab."

A short walk later, and Judy led her down into George Cahill's old bunker.

"I miss George," Judy sighed. "He gave me his helmet, a little bit before he…" She stopped herself, feeling her breath catch in her throat. "I used to sleep here sometimes. Not with him, of course. He would let me have the bed and he slept outside. He said sometimes he liked to sleep under the stars, so he could hear what they were telling him."

If her parents knew how often she'd snuck away to spend time listening to an old hermit living in a crashed plane tell war stories, they would shit bricks. She visited him in hospice just hours before his death, and when she said her final goodbye, he'd slipped the key to Old Penelope into her small hand.

Since then, Penelope was her haven. Her quiet place where she could be as loud as she pleased. Where she could sleep, cry, write, think, dream, whatever. It was sacred. It was precious.

And with Jess sitting on the bed while Judy prepared a snack, it felt even more so.

"I don't believe you," Jess sighed, head in her hands. "Knowing about the lab was one thing, but going in there… Do you have any idea how dangerous that could have been? How dangerous it _still could be_? There could have been someone or something in there. You could be infected."

"I feel ok," Judy shrugged.

"Oh you'll feel great," Jess said. "When I go into those trances… god, I don't feel hungry or tired. Hot or cold. I don't need anything. I don't feel anything. Everything is perfect. Aches, pains, gone… and all I have to do is send others to- well. I don't know."

"It sounds like you like it," Judy observed, handing the bowl of crackers to Jess and flopping herself on the bed next to her. Jess frowned thoughtfully.

'I… guess while it's happening, I do," she said. "Or that part of me does? It's hard to explain. It's like I, myself, am locked behind a soundproof glass window, watching my possessed self, hearing those awful things in that awful voice. But my real self can't reach my possessed self. No matter how much I pound on the glass I don't hear it… knowing you're not in control and not being able to do anything about it… waking up and realizing it… it's….."

Judy hesitated just a second, then reached out and placed her hand reassuringly over Jess'. Her dream flashed through her mind, briefly.

"You always get through though," Jess continued. "If I'm behind a soundproof window yelling at myself… it's like… like you shatter the window. And I can tell myself to wake up. Does that make sense?"

Judy nodded eagerly. Her heart was fluttering in her chest; she wrinkled her nose just slightly in annoyance at it. Now wasn't the time to realize how _blue_ Jess' eyes were. She mentally shook herself and tried to keep her mind on the reason they were there.

"You were one of the first to be infected," Judy stated matter of factly. "You were there when this started."

"I was," Jess chuckled, shaking her head. "You're scary sometimes, little sleuth. You shouldn't know any of this."

"I know a lot," Judy admitted. She reached into her bag, pulled out the thumb drive and paper. "I'm guessing this is going to be harder than hell to get into, if it even still works after I get all the dirt out. This though…" She handed the paper to Jess, who unfolded it and looked it over. Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Terminal…" she said, then scoffed and tossed it aside. "No one told me that part. Of course."

"It's been a long time," Judy suggested. "Maybe they were wrong. I mean it says '_potentially_' terminal."

"Maybe…" Jess set aside the bowl of crackers, leaned back on the pillow, scanned the paper again and again. Judy's knee rested against her thigh and she hated the blush that crept up her face. "Or maybe whatever this is will take its toll eventually."

"Which is why I need a keycard to get further into the lab," Judy said casually as she reached for the bowl, tossed a cracker into her mouth, hoping Jess would roll with it. She chanced a quick look; sharp blue eyes snapped up to meet hers over the top of the paper.

"Absolutely not," she said. "Judith Aubrie Koch, I do not want you going any deeper into that lab-" she smirked at Judy's shocked expression. "And yes, I did some sleuthing of my own. Judy, are you listening to me? The lab is dangerous."

"Yeah, and you're infected and I have to fix it," Judy practically whined. "You can't stop me."

At that Jess sat up, raised an eyebrow.

"Watch me carry your skinny ass back to town next time you try to go out there," she said. Judy laughed, but her breath caught in her chest. Suddenly flustered, she spat back the first thing that came to mind.

"Sure, if you're not too busy being possessed-" Judy stopped herself, but too late. It was too far and she knew it. Jess' face fell, worry written plainly across her features. "Uh, sorry. That's not, uh..."

Jess shook her head, flashed Judy a weak smile. She leaned back on the bed, hands crossed over her stomach. Forehead creased in thought.

"Tomorrow," Jess said slow and quiet. "Dylan goes to work at 7. Christie leaves for school at 8. Meet me in the parking lot between the bar and the laundromat. If I'm not there-"

"I'll find you," Judy finished, and Jess smiled fondly.

"You always seem to, lately," she said. "I'd better go. You'd better go too. We both need sleep."

"Will you be ok?" Judy asked. "I mean do you think… it'll happen again tonight?"

"It doesn't matter," Jess said firmly. "My darling, you need sleep. Don't worry about me."

"Too late," Judy chirped as she jumped up from the bed. Jess laughed, tossed her legs over the side of the bed and groaned softly, rolling her shoulders.

Judy frowned, watching Jess rub her neck as she stood up. They parted ways quietly and without fanfare, and each went their separate ways for the night. By then it was nearly 5 am, and Judy was terrified her parents would already be up. Luckily, she just beat them.

She settled into bed just as she heard their bedroom door open and shut. Before long, she'd slipped into another fretful sleep and once again dreamed of Jess, this time standing in the crater as the ground cracked open beneath her feet and the absence swallowed her whole, silently, leaving no trace of the vibrant woman that had been.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, just after 8:30 am, Judy slipped into the alley between the bar and the laundromat. The alley opened to a parking lot, where Jess stood half hidden behind a vending machine. As Judy entered she turned to meet her eyes.

They shared a quick smile, then got right to business.

"Did you sleep good?" Judy asked meaningfully.

"I did," Jess replied, and left it at that. "Here, I brought your book."

"My wh-" Judy stopped as Jess' eyes widened in warning. "Oh, that one. Thanks."

"Careful you don't lose it," Jess said. Casual. Judy nodded, slipping it into her bag. "Did you get to chapter 5 yet?"

"Not yet, no…" Judy squinted suspiciously, and Jess grinned slightly.

"It's a good one," she said. And without another word, she turned and walked out of the lot. Judy waited a few minutes, then followed suite. She couldn't go home; she was, once again, skipping school. It felt like she did that more often than not anymore.

She saw Old Penelope more than she saw her school, and that was where she found herself again that day. Her cold metal walls welcomed her, soothing her flushed face. It was almost June, and was starting to heat up. Soon school would be out and she would be free to do whatever she pleased, all day, without faking calls to the attendance office. It would be a relief.

As she fell back on the bed, she connected her phone to the speakers on the desk and blared some music, then eagerly brought out the book.

The security keycard fell out easily. Far too easily for the potential it held, it seemed.

Curiously, heart fluttering in anticipation, Judy turned to Chapter 5 and there, in neat, simple handwriting along the bottom margin, was a phone number and the words "if you need me, don't hesitate."

And for a moment, despite everything… despite the infection and the profound sense of loss she was feeling over knowing Jess would never be hers in the way she wanted, Judy's heart soared.

* * *

That summer, Jess and Judy texted almost nonstop. About everything, about nothing. About something as simple as what they'd each had for dinner the night before and as serious as the sealed door in the lab, and whether it was safe to open or not. If not, it was too late. The wind seemed to blow in strange ways now and there always seemed to be a cloud hanging low over the crater. Sometimes she could swear the strange smell from the lab was everywhere now. Her throat itched, her eyes watered, and everyone in town noted the same symptoms. When they talked about this, Judy could feel Jess' fear through the phone.

Despite her best efforts, Judy's _minor_ crush on Jess persisted. Her hopes raised and were dashed several times a day, and so to distract herself, she spent more time at the lab, whether that was smart or not. She'd finally got past the hallway where the spores she'd been seeing around town were the most concentrated, thanks to Jess and her scientist friend. The ventilator was a challenge to hide from her parents, and she didn't dare tell anyone what she'd seen in the deepest depths of the lab; a plant so large it seemed impossible, and so alive it was _writhing_. She only watched it through a window for a few minutes before getting uncomfortable and going back upstairs. She had the distinctly frustrating feeling that all the puzzle pieces were there and she was simply too inept to put them together.

At the scientist's suggestion, Judy had been trying her hardest to formulate a vaccine for the infection but her progress on that front was nearly zero. No matter how many medical books she checked out from the library, it was like reading Greek. Her brain chewed up the words and spit them back out, not digesting a single letter.

When she told Jess about her frustrations, Jess suggested coming in with her to help brainstorm.

"I only have one ventilator," Judy tapped out, sent it.

"I'm already infected," Jess replied a moment later.

"It might make the thing happen."

"Maybe, but you'll be there."

Reluctantly, Judy agreed. They planned to meet up that night at Old Penelope at 10 pm. Judy arrived at 9:58 to find Jess already waiting.

"What took you so long?" she asked with a smirk, and Judy laughed breathlessly.

"I'm small and weak," she said simply. "You have buff legs to get you places faster. Give me a break."

"Should I carry you, little sleuth?" Jess asked, and Judy let out another nervous laugh.

"That's tempting, but I think I can keep up," Judy shot back. "Maybe."

"Think so, Shrimp?" Jess teased, nudging Judy's shoulder with hers, and Judy laughed incredulously.

"Yeah I think so, you freakin' tank," she replied, throwing her entire body weight uselessly against Jess. "Ugh, you're heavier than you look. What, are you nothing but muscle?"

They talked, laughed, played all the way to the lab and arrived in high spirits. Jess' fell when she saw the lab.

"I never forgot that hum," she murmured. "I feel it in my sleep sometimes."

"Are you going to be ok going in?" Judy asked, and Jess nodded. Hesitantly, but her face was determined.

Judy slipped her ventilator on, and they entered the lab together. She heard Jess' sharp intake of breath next to her and without thinking, reached over, squeezed her hand reassuringly. A quick, friendly squeeze and her heart went racing. _Idiot_.

They went to the lower levels of the lab, quieter now than on the journey there.

"So this is where I've been working," Judy said, gesturing grandly around the chemistry station. The surface and the floor around it was littered with empty energy drink cans and granola bar wrappers.

"My god, Judy," Jess sighed. "When's the last time you had real food?"

"Oh, I don't know, a while," Judy replied distractedly as she made her way over to the chemistry station. "I've read 47 books on how vaccines work and I still have no idea, not even an _inkling_, where to even start making one for this."

"You've got some spores collected, yeah?"

Judy pulled out a canister filled with little red, blue, and purple blobs, and shook it with a bright grin.

"And you found some of the fruit from those plants?"

"In the fridge over there," Judy sighed, turning away from Jess and pulling out the infection scanner- also courtesy of Jess and her scientist friend. "It's so frustrating. It kind of makes sense when I'm reading it, but applying any of that and actually doing anything _useful_ is…"

From behind, there was a slight retching sound, and a cough. Judy whipped around to see Jess doubled over, gagging, holding her stomach. She cried out in concern, running to her friend.

"Fight it, Jess," she urged. Jess met her eyes, terrified and pained. "Come on, stay with me. I'm right here. Keep your eyes on me."

For a few terrifying moments Judy watched as the real Jess and Smiler Jess warred for control. Smiler Jess won out in the end, but it was different this time. There was a determination in the wide, glazed eyes and a menacing tilt to the smile. Smiler Jess stumbled forward with purpose and awkwardly jerked her shoulder, sending her limp arm sailing. Judy dodged it, still trying to talk sense into her.

"Jess, please," she cried, backing away fearfully. She couldn't get close enough to shake her without getting hit. "Don't hurt me Jess-"

And Jess lunged, her hand curled up like a claw. Three nails dug a long, painful scratch down Judy's face. Judy yelped, holding her face and fighting back tears.

"Stop, Jess, please stop," Judy practically sobbed as Smiler Jess backed her against the wall, pressing her to it. "Don't hurt me, please… please…" And Jess froze, twitched, contorted, then relaxed. Her eyes snapped shut, then slowly slid open and filled with tears as she looked over Judy's face.

"Did I do that to you?" she asked, horrified. She backed away, eyes darting around the room. "Judy I'm sorry. I didn't… I don't- I shouldn't have come here. I…" And with that she was gone.

Judy stood shocked and still against the wall, holding her bleeding cheek and crying quietly. When she heard the main door slide open she came to her senses and ran after her, calling her name. She burst onto the main level, looking around wildly, but Jess was nowhere to be found. Damn buff legs.

"Call me when you can. I'm worried," Judy texted and, as expected, no response came. Defeated, she decided just to get her things and head back. Maybe she'd catch up to Jess if she started soon.

She didn't. But it was still early and she had an idea where she might find her.

* * *

As she suspected, the key to Old Penelope wasn't in the spot where she usually hid it, so she tried the door. It creaked open readily, and Judy made her way down.

The radio was on low. Sad sweet music filled the hallway as Judy pushed open the door to the common room. Jess sat curled up in bed, freshly showered with a blanket wrapped around her, eyes red and puffy.

"Hey Jess," Judy said simply. She was relieved to see her normal, if a little conflicted. "Feeling ok?"

"I feel horrible," she replied in a hoarse whisper. "I hurt you… little sleuth, you're bleeding. I'm so sorry."

"I'm ok," Judy assured her. "It's a scratch. It'll heal."

"You were so afraid," Jess urged. "I could hear you begging me not to hurt you but- the window. It didn't break in time."

"Maybe being that close to the lab isn't a good idea for you," Judy suggested gently, sitting on the bed, crossing her legs in front of her and facing Jess. Jess drew back fearfully, and Judy reached out, held her shoulders, pulled her back. "Hey, it's ok. I know you won't hurt me."

"_I_ don't even know I won't hurt you," Jess snapped. Her eyes welled with tears. "I can't be around you. Or anyone. I can't trust myself."

"You should go home and get some sleep," Judy suggested helplessly. She'd never seen Jess so distraught. "You really need rest."

"I can't go home," Jess sniffled. "What if I hurt Christie? I'm dangerous. I might have to stay here a while. Dylan's already about to leave me and I can only imagine this will push him over the edge but... I can't risk hurting my daughter like I hurt you."

"If you stay here, I'm staying with you," Judy bargained. "I'm not afraid of you Jess. That only happened because you were so close to the lab."

"It talked to me," Jess said. A small sob. "It told me to… it told me to kill you, Judy." There was a long silence. "I fought so hard but…"

"And you won," Judy assured her. "You _didn't_ kill me."

And Jess let out a watery laugh.

"I guess not," she sighed. "I'm so sorry, darling. You should clean that before it gets infected."

A look passed between them, the acknowledgement of a possibility they hadn't yet considered… was Jess' condition contagious? Judy supposed she would find out sooner or later. She took a quick shower, washed the wound well and applied antibiotic ointment- George always kept a supply, since Judy was prone to scrapes and cuts as a child. She really missed George. His helmet sat on a shelf out in the bedroom; her heart ached remembering the day he gave it to her.

He'd been in hospice for two weeks altogether, and the day in question was a week in. She came to visit, and he'd been holding the helmet at his side.

"Oh, excellent timing Judy," he said weakly. "I was just thinking about you. Come here."

She'd tried her best to walk quietly to the bedside, but there always seemed to be something to trip over. To her relief, George just chuckled.

"Footstools have a way of sneaking up on you, don't they?" he said. And then he patted the helmet. "I want you to have this, little sparrow. You go on so many adventures…. you'll need something to keep you safe. It's warm, too."

"But won't you need it?" Judy had asked nervously. At 7, she didn't yet realize how serious his illness was. "If you're leaving soon… you might need it where you're going."

"I'll be just fine, little sparrow," he said. "I'm off to different vistas. Somewhere new, somewhere strange. I won't need my old gear, see? _You_… you're staying here. That means you get the gear fit for the job."

"What's the job?" Judy asked, excited at the prospect of adventure and responsibility. "Is it important?"

"You'll figure that out yourself in time," George said, closing his eyes. "I'm going to rest a while. You can stay if you'd like."

So Judy went and sat on a chair nearby, put on the helmet and quietly imagined she was flying Old Penelope back during the war. Soaring over oceans and mountain ranges, above flat deserts and billowing storm clouds until a nurse came and shooed her out.

In the present, Judy frowned at herself in the mirror. Adventure and responsibility… she'd wanted it so bad and now that it was hers, her shoulders ached with the weight of it. A town full of people, counting on her. Jess, getting sicker every day. George, watching her from whatever strange new vista he was flying now. Was he disappointed?

She remembered the last time she saw him, his gaunt pale face stark white against the blue hospital sheets. His hand trembling and icy as he pressed the cool metal key into her tiny palm.

His voice hoarse as he met her eyes one last time and whispered "you're going to do great things, little sparrow."

She returned to Jess, shaken and uncertain.

"I'm letting everyone down," she said, pulling her arms inside her oversized t-shirt, her knees to her chest, and resting her chin on them. Jess looked up from her blanket burrito and furrowed her brow,

"People usually feel better after a shower," she commented. "Maybe go try again."

Judy laughed but her heart wasn't in it.

"I'm not smart enough," she said. "I mean… I can't _synthesize a vaccine_. I don't even know where to start."

"Sounds to me like you need an extra smart friend to help," Jess suggested, and Judy sighed deeply. She had an idea who to turn to, but she'd hoped to avoid it.

"Yeah… and I know just who," she said. "My grandpa. He's a big brain... he used to make medicine for my mom and her brother and sister. I'm sure he could figure this out, but…."

"Not on good terms with him?" Jess prompted, and Judy smiled.

"He's just…. far away," she said. "But I know where to find him. Mom used to visit him sometimes. It's a long trip though, and I'm not sure my moms will let me go."

"What if a responsible adult goes with you?" Jess asked with a smile, and Judy looked around.

"You know a responsible adult? Where?"

That earned her a half hearted whap. For a while they sat together, Jess in her blanket burrito and Judy entirely engulfed by her giant t-shirt, talking about life, death, responsibility, the lab, growing up, growing old, growing apart, expectations and disappointment. Hours passed; Judy's eyelids slowly drooped, heavier every second.

"Time for bed," Jess said when Judy's head dropped and snapped back up. "You better go home."

"No, I'm staying with you," Judy said resolutely. "I promised. It's ok, you can have the bed. I have an extra blanket, I'll just… sleep under the stars, so I can hear what they're telling me."

The desert air was cool now that the sun was down, but the ground was nice and warm still. Judy set up her makeshift bed near a patch of wildflowers, flicked on the lantern she'd brought with her, and lay on her back. It was a mostly clear night; a stray cloud or two from the lab drifted over occasionally, and the strange smell was ever present, but still the stars were beautiful.

Before her grandpa's death, he'd sat her on his lap and showed her constellations. He showed her Orion's Belt and Orion, and together they'd picked out and named a new one right next to it; they called it The Littlest Lion. Small but mighty, he'd said, just like her. For a while she lay there, picking out all the constellations she could remember and looking for new ones. Sleep caught up to her again before long and she yawned, pulling her blanket up to her chin.

"Ok, stars," Judy said quietly as her eyes started to slide shut. "I'm listening."

The door to Old Penelope creaked open and Jess walked out, blanket and pillow in her arms.

"Can't sleep," she muttered as she set up a bed right next to Judy. "Maybe the stars will talk to me too." Judy smiled at her reassuringly, sensing the nerves.

"Everything's going to be ok, Jess," she promised. "My grandpa will help. I know he'll figure it out."

"I hope so, little sleuth," Jess said with a yawn, settling in. She lay on her side, and Judy could feel sharp blue eyes studying her face. It was definitely shaping up to be a strange summer.

She listened as Jess' breathing slowed and finally fell into a deep, steady rhythm and only then did she chance a look; she was fast asleep, eyelashes delicately resting against smooth brown skin. Her lips pouted just slightly, and slender fingers curled easily against the blanket. Judy's heart was full to bursting, and tears stung her eyes; everything in her screamed that this was right, this was where she belonged, and it all crashed down remembering Dylan and Christie and that to Jess, Judy was just a kid. Her emotions warred inside of her, but ultimately, watching the gentle rise and fall of Jess' shoulder and listening to the quiet easy rhythm of her breathing, Judy fell into a peaceful, pleasant sleep. She dreamed of flying Old Penelope over strange new vistas, Jess at her side. They flew above the clouds, with a vast starry sky stretching forever in every direction around them. In the distance, Orion's belt sparkled bright, and as they flew towards it Judy reached over, grasped Jess' hand and held it. And all was right in her heart.

The next morning, Judy woke up alone.

* * *

She sat up and looked around; the sunrise set the desert on fire, painted it brilliant orange and yellow. It was warm. Instinctively she turned to where Jess should have been, but the makeshift bed was empty. She looked around forlornly, ready to find and snap Jess out of her trance but…. she froze and listened; an angry voice drifted over on the breeze. She listened for a second voice but there wasn't one. She must be on the phone. Judy lay back down, snuggled back into her blankets and waited. Eventually Jess came back, sitting angrily in her spot.

"Morning," Judy said cautiously. Jess nodded curtly.

"How did you sleep?" She asked, still with an edge to her tone.

"Better than I have in a long time," Judy replied. She turned on her side, looked up at Jess. "What about you?"

She hesitated for a second, nodded.

"Same," she said simply. "I had a nice dream... I can't remember the last time I had a nice dream."

"The stars told me stuff," Judy said. "I think asking my grandpa for help is definitely the right thing to do… will you come with me?" A pause.

"That was Dylan, on the phone," Jess said. Her face hardened. "He was… very. _Very_ angry that I didn't come home last night. I don't know what to tell him."

"Tell him to go suck a-"

"_Judy_!" Jess snapped, but her eyes danced mischievously. "I know you don't like him, but… he has a point. I have a family and I haven't been there for them. They- well, Christie, at least, deserves better. I can't go home but I don't know how to…" She sighed deeply, rubbed her eyes, shook her head.

"I can't go home, so I might as well go with you," she conceded. "It'll be nice to get away for a while. Where does he live?"

"He's in Windenberg," Judy said. "We can catch the 9:00 train and be there by about 5. My aunt runs a Bed and Breakfast there, she can get us a room cheap."

"And what about school?" Jess asked sternly. Judy grunted dismissively, waving her hand as she pulled out her phone to text her Aunt Edie.

"The year just started," she said. "Nothing good's happening yet. I can miss a few days. You're more important."

She had a nice conversation with Aunt Edie, told her she'd be coming to visit soon, and reserved a room at the B&B.

"Do you need to get anything from home?" Judy asked. Jess groaned quietly.

"We'll wait until Dylan leaves for work and Christie's at school," she said. "We'll have to stop by on the way to the train station. I'll make it fast."

In the meantime, Judy took the blankets back into the bunker, changed into regular clothes and packed a few belongings while Jess waited above ground. Before going back up, she took a minute to call her moms.

"Where the hell have you been?" Tali asked, exasperated. "Judy I just don't know what to do with you anymore. Are you coming home?"

"Not today," she said. She heard Maki groan in the background. "I'm actually uh. Going to visit Grandpa. I need his help with something."

"You're going alone?" Maki asked, her voice getting closer as she spoke. "Do you have money?"

"Jess is coming with me," she said, closing her eyes nervously and waiting for the fallout.

"The neighbor lady with the crazy eyes?" Tali asked with a defeated sigh. "Judy, just come home. This is insane, and what about school?"

"This is more important!" Judy protested. "Guys, don't you care that people are in danger? You haven't noticed the weather changing? The wind smelling different? And all those sick people… they need help, moms. I'm the only one trying to do anything about it! Maybe if the scientists and the military weren't so worried about covering it up-"

"You sound as crazy as Allie right now," Tali said. "Have you been hanging out at that store again, talking to her? Listen. Judy. Darling. I love you. I know you think you're doing the right thing but you're putting yourself in danger. You're involving yourself in serious, serious stuff. Just come home. Please."

"I can't," Judy said. Her voice thickened and her throat ached as tears filled her eyes. "Jess needs help. The town needs help. I started it and I have to finish it. I love you guys. Don't worry, I'm being careful."

She ended the call before they could argue any more. She loved her mothers but they were like ostriches with their heads in the sand, exposed to danger but ignoring it. Whether they knew it or not, they needed her help too.

She headed upstairs, her bag packed with clothes, her laptop, the paper and thumb drive, the spore samples, and a few of the fruits from the strange plants.

"Ready?"

Jess nodded, but her shoulders tensed as they started the walk back into town. They didn't talk much, just walked together silently, occasionally bumping arms and trading glances. Jess' house came into view, and they stopped. Jess sighed impatiently, swore under her breath.

"He should be at work," she said, glaring hatefully at the car parked in the driveway. "Shit. You'd better wait outside."

"Be careful," Judy said, suddenly worried about the man's temper. "Call me if you need help and I'll come in."

"I'll be alright," Jess assured her. "He's never been… violent." Judy remembered the glass shattering against the kitchen wall and shuddered.

She sat nervously on the front steps, hoping the lavender bushes would conceal her from her mothers' view just across the street. She strained her ears for any sounds of conflict inside the house, her phone in hand waiting for any indication from Jess that there was trouble. All was silent, eerily calm. 5 minutes passed, then 10. Only then did raised voices drift out of the open window. The voices came closer, muffled but growing louder until the front door burst open and Jess stormed out, down the steps, into the front yard. Dylan was close behind and stopped in the doorway.

"You've fucking lost it, Jess," he snarled. "What the _fuck_ makes you think you can just 'go on a trip' without talking to me first?"

"You don't own me," Jess shot back. "I'm an adult! I am a person, with my own thoughts, my own feelings, my own needs and my own problems! But you don't think about that, do you?"

"Right, I'm so _evil_ because I think about our daughter, and her needs, and how she's grown up without her mother because _you_-" Only then did he notice Judy scrambling to her feet and stumbling back from the steps. "…..I should have known. I should have fucking known. You know what, kid? You can have her. Fuck it. Bye, Jess."

"Dylan-" Jess called out, and rushed forward, but the door slammed shut. A second later, the window did too.

There was a long pause. Judy stood uncertainly behind Jess, watching her shoulders rise and fall with every angry breath as she stared at the door. She turned around slowly, closed her eyes, collected herself.

"I'll deal with that when we get back," she muttered. "Let's go."

* * *

They opted to take Jess' car, since the station was well outside of town. The air conditioning and cushioned seats were welcome after a night of sleeping on hard, dusty ground.

"I'm sorry, Jess," Judy said after a few minutes of silence. "I feel like I dragged you into this… this is my fault." Jess turned down the radio and glanced at Judy.

"Little sleuth…" she started gently. "Sweetheart, none of this is your fault. This all started a long, long time ago when you were just a baby. You didn't start this, but you're the only one trying to fix it. It's not your fault."

"But Dylan-"

"I'm not worried about him," she shot back. "To be honest… I think he was a mistake." Judy's heart skipped a beat. She glanced over at the woman driving. Blue eyes focused intently on the road, knuckles white on the steering wheel. "We were young and stupid, barely 18. We weren't ready for Christie but she happened. We weren't ready for marriage but we thought we had to. I wasn't ready for the military but I thought it would get me out to see the world, but it only took me to Strangerville, and all it got me was infected and trapped."

Judy didn't know what to say, so she said nothing, watching cacti and brush fly by outside the window, following the swooping and soaring of the power lines with her eyes.

"I guess the only good thing to come from being stuck in Strangerville was meeting you," Jess said a few minutes later. "You're the best friend I've ever had, Judy, you know that?" That was all it took to set Judy's heart glowing. She smiled to herself, still watching the power lines and buttes pass outside.

"You're the _only_ friend I've ever had," she replied. "Except George. I'm happy I met you." Jess smiled the first genuine smile Judy had seen from her since their walk to the crater last night, and Judy watched in awe of how perfect Jess looked, always, no matter what.

"You slept on dirt last night," Judy pointed out. Jess scoffed, glanced at her.

"I did," she agreed. "And so did you."

"Yeah and I look like a dirty gremlin, but you look…" Judy hesitated, clenched her fists in her lap, stared out the window. "Beautiful." Her cheeks instantly burned and she regretted saying it. She silently cursed herself, called herself every name in the book. Idiot. Pathetic fool. Dumbass lovestruck moron.

To her surprise, Jess smiled widely, genuinely, looking away shyly.

"You're sweet," she said. "I'm not so sure, but thank you for thinking so."

The rest of the drive was silent. They reached the station at around 8:30 and while Jess paid to park her car for a week, Judy bought two tickets to Windenberg. They met back up on the platform and took a seat together on a bench, quietly enjoying each other's company until their train arrived and they boarded. They found their seats on the near empty train, stowing their bags and settling in for the long ride.

It passed slowly, but to Judy that was perfect. They talked and laughed and Judy noticed that Jess smiled more easily, laughed more freely, joked openly and even sat in a more relaxed manner. Getting away really was good for her, Judy thought. She almost hated to burden Jess with the details of their trip, but she thought it was best discussed sooner rather than later.

"So when we get there, we'll put our stuff in our room and say hi to Aunt Edie," Judy said. "And then we'll have a few hours before we have to go meet grandpa." Jess tilted her head curiously.

"Those are weird visiting hours," she mused. "That'll be a little late, won't it?"

"Yeah, well…" Judy shrugged uncomfortably. "Ghosts keep weird hours."

"Oh," Jess said. A pause. "_Oh._"

"I should have told you," Judy said. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Jess said after a moment of uncertainty. "I've never met a ghost before. What's he like?"

For the last half hour of the ride, Judy recounted everything her mother had told her about the single father who raised three unexpected children all on his own. The brilliant man who built a rocket in his backyard and explored the deepest depths of space. The man who made great, revolutionary leaps and advances in the science world from the lab in his basement between diaper changes and PTA meetings. The man who supported Tali's acting career, Uncle Shepard's soccer dreams, Aunt Edie's dreams of doing whatever she felt like at the moment. The man who painted the sky with constellations for Judy and sparked her interest in the unknown.

"There's always something new out there, Judy," he'd told her in some hazy, half forgotten memory. "We each get just a short time in this life. Make it count."

No one made it count quite like Orion.

"He must be proud," Jess said with a gentle smile. "You're really making it count."

"I don't know," Judy shrugged, embarrassed. "I might still crash and burn."

"He'd be proud anyway," Jess asserted. "I'm certainly proud of you."


	3. Chapter 3

They arrived right on schedule, and the cold bite in the air caught them both off guard. This far north, fall had a chill to it. Snow capped mountains rose in the distance, and a cool wind whipped their hair as they walked through the village square looking for Aunt Edie's Bed and Breakfast.

It was an old stone building at the end of the block on a winding cobbled street, and when Judy saw it she instantly remembered being there with her mothers, a long time ago, for Grandpa Orion's funeral. It had been a sad affair last time, but now brightly colored flowers hung in pots all over the front steps and the worn wooden door had been repainted a nice bright blue.

Judy pushed it open uncertainly and looked around the lobby. Aunt Edie sat at the front desk and stood excitedly when they entered.

"Judy!" she squealed, rushing over to hug her. "I can't believe how big you are! You were this tall when I saw you last time- oh, and it's nice to meet you, ma'am. Jess?"

They shook hands politely, but Judy could tell Aunt Edie would have preferred to go in for a hug. She was a big hugger.

"We've made some changes since last time," Aunt Edie chirped, pulling a set of keys out of a drawer on her desk, then taking off down the hallway with a gesture to follow. "Mostly we painted, renovated some of the rooms that were worse for wear. All new kitchen appliances, complete overhaul of the plumbing- it's been a project, but I think the place is even better for it."

"It looks great," Judy agreed. "It doesn't even smell like dog anymore."

"We had to tear out some carpets and replace some flooring to get rid of _that_ smell," Aunt Edie grimaced. "Whoever lived here before I got the place must have had several. You know how big hunting is around here- it was probably hounds for that."

They climbed a set of old wooden stairs, Aunt Edie still chatting about the renovations.

"Anyway, this is yours," Aunt Edie gestured to the door they'd stopped in front of. "You got one that was totally gutted and redone. All new floor, walls, ceiling, wiring, everything. Only the best for Little Lion."

With a final goodbye and reminder of breakfast times and bathroom locations, Aunt Edie danced back downstairs.

"She's… happy," Jess said with an uneasy laugh. "Is she always that happy?"

"_Always_," Judy asserted as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. The room smelled like fresh wood and flowers, and despite it being newly renovated it still had a classic, rustic charm. Raw wood furniture, modest decorations, a single flat screen TV on the wall and- only one bed.

"Yeah I should have mentioned that too," Judy said, setting her bag on the floor. "We'll have to share the bed. All the two bed rooms were booked."

"Not a problem," Jess said. "At least it's a big bed. Plenty of room."

They unpacked and settled in, sitting on opposite ends of the bed facing each other.

"Are you tired?" Judy asked. "We have a few hours. We could get a nap in before we go."

Jess agreed, and they laid back to back, sharing warmth. Judy had never felt quite so bright and fuzzy. Her heart was practically glowing in her chest, and her stomach did nervous, excited loops. Sleep didn't come easily but it did eventually come, and she dreamed of lying on a warm desert ground with Jess, looking for constellations. She took Jess' hand and pointed for her, tracing shapes, drawing new ones. A few dozen new stars, born from the clasping of their hands, a dozen new suns, new worlds. Judy felt the warmth of all of those new suns burning in her heart as she turned to look at Jess, and Jess looked back at her- The sound of an alarm tore through the peace of the dream, and Judy opened her eyes, dazed.

Her phone sat on the bedside table near her head, blaring its song. Jess dozed next to her, forehead pressed to her arm and knees digging into her thigh. She smiled, still glowing, still fuzzy, and shook Jess gently with her free arm. The other woman stirred, eyes opening slowly, blinking a few times, sliding shut.

"What time is it?" she asked, still with her forehead pressed to Judy's arm.

"Time to get up," Judy replied. Jess sighed deeply.

"But I'm comfy," she breathed. Judy smiled, trying and failing not to enjoy sweet, sleepy Jess.

"Come on, I'm trying to save your life," Judy prodded. Jess groaned.

"Ok, I'm up," she said. She rolled onto her back, rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

It was almost 9. Ideally, Judy wanted to be to the old house by 10, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to get out of bed much faster than she did.

At 9:00 they finally got up, changed into fresh clothes and set out.

"I'm glad I brought a sweater," Jess said, pulling her hands into her sleeves and tucking them against her sides. Judy murmured her agreement, eyes on her phone as she looked at a map of the area. Slowly, surely, she guided them to the countryside and up the long winding hill. The little red house was old and slanted now, overgrown from all sides and dark. It looked, by all accounts, haunted.

"Looks like somewhere dead grandpas would live," Jess said appreciatively as they followed the path up. "I'm sure it was adorable in its day, though."

"I've seen pictures," Judy said sadly. "It was beautiful. There was an observatory in the backyard. A garden, a launch pad… the lab is still there though. Mom says he takes good care of it still."

They skirted around the house and into the backyard, overgrown and accruing piles of junk from neighbors too lazy to go to the landfill. At the far edge of the lot stood a shed, and Judy pointed it out.

"That's the entrance," she said. "Mom said there's a lab and two bedrooms down there. Up there-" she pointed at an expanded portion of the house, jutting out haphazardly- "was Aunt Edie's room. Grandpa had to build it for her because there wasn't enough room anywhere else. Mom offered to share her room with Uncle Shepard but he said he wanted each of his kids to have their own space."

'He sounds like a great man," Jess said. Judy nodded as they approached the door. She knocked firmly and waited a moment.

A camera affixed to the shed whirred, and a speaker crackled.

"Oh, is this who I think it is?" a man crooned from the speaker. "You look a little different than when I last saw you, Little Lion, but I know those freckles just like I know the stars in the sky! Come on in."

There was a loud clack from the door. Judy pushed it open and led Jess down the stairs into a clean white room filled with lab equipment. The walls were lined with shelves of alien creatures in jars, interesting rocks, all manner of curiosities. But Judy was more focused on the translucent man in the middle of the room.

"Hi, grandpa," she said, bounding forward and hugging him tightly. He was cold to the touch and there was no physical body to speak of, but his energy offered enough resistance for a hug- like magnets opposing each other. "How have you been?"

"Dead," he chuckled warmly. "So honestly, just fine. Nice and quiet, plenty of time to work. I've missed you, Little Lion. And uh, your friend?"

He walked past Judy, patting her shoulder gently as he did, and greeted Jess neutrally. She offered her hand, and he shook it graciously. They introduced themselves, and Orion looked them both over.

"Well! Not that I'm not happy to see you…." he said as he gestured to a small loveseat. "But I assume you didn't make this trip just to see old Grandpa O?"

"No, not exactly," Judy said as she and Jess took a seat. "Grandpa… I need your help with something."

"Ok, fill me in." He sat in a chair across from them, folded one leg over the other and leaned back, listening.

And together they told him the story; told him about the secret lab, about the base, about the possessed citizens and the spores, the plants. They told him all they knew. Orion listened intently, silently, until they finished. He looked at Jess and nodded to her.

"And you were there when it started?"

"I was."

"What happened?"

"I don't… I, uh…" she hesitated. "That's confidential, sir."

"I'm curious," he said with a frown. "Because it reminds me of something I've seen before. I'm sure Judy's told you I built a ship out back many, many years ago?" Jess nodded.

With that he stood up and walked over to a far wall, where he cracked open a filing cabinet and rustled through it for a moment. He came back carrying a small jar, and in it was a miniature version of the plants scattered all over Strangerville.

"Looks familiar?" Orion asked darkly when he saw the look they exchanged. "I'm afraid I'm the one that brought it to Earth. I should have never took a sample to the Committee. I should have known they'd do something stupid with it. My guess, they sold it to the military and the military bought it trying to harness its mind control capabilities, and in the process got mind controlled?" He looked sharply at Jess.

"I don't know, sir," she said. "I just work security. They didn't tell me much."

"I'd bet my left ass cheek," Orion said with a ragged sigh. "So, Little Lion." He turned to Judy, clasped his hands in front of his face, eyes sparkling proudly. "That's what you've been up to? Undoing my mistakes?"

"You bet, Gramps," Judy chuckled. "I've been in the lab, jacked some stuff, fiddled with some chemicals, read 1000 books… I'm a little stuck."

"On what?" he prompted. "Say the word, I've got you."

"We need a vaccine," Judy said hopefully. He leaned back, considered it.

"We'd need DNA from whatever the plant uses to infect people," he said. "How does it infect? I wonder if it's a telepathic effect or something physical? Or maybe…"

As he mused, Judy rolled her eyes playfully and dug through her bag, pulled out the spores and the fruit, and the thumb drive.

"Will these work?"

"-but then it would need a way to reproduce and I guess cutting off the-what." He stopped himself, looked at the jars, blinked. "Spores?"

"Yep," Judy said proudly. "Jess and her friend got me an infection scanner that detects these. They're everywhere in town."

"And it seems some people are resistant?" he said thoughtfully. "You say the infected have spells of 'possession.' You've clearly been in close contact with Jess, here, and you've never been 'possessed?'"

"One time," Judy said, shivering as she remembered it. She sensed Jess' head snap in her direction. "When I got through the first security door. There was a hallway full of spores and I… I don't know, I guess I thought breathing through my shirt would be enough… it wasn't. It didn't last long, and it never happened again."

"You're probably resistant, then," he said. "This might be enough. Let's see... we've got the fruit, we've got my sample ... the spores.. Thumb drive, that has to be useful-." As he spoke he gathered the components in his arms, looked around wildly, paused.

"I wonder, Judy, if you'd be willing to provide a blood sample?" he asked. "Your choice entirely. It might help. Jess, you also."

"Of course," Judy agreed readily. Whatever it took. Anything to never have to hear the pained noises Jess made when she was possessed again.

They sat together watching the old ghost fret back and forth, gathering supplies and equipment. After a while he called them over, took a small amount of blood from each of them, shooed them back to the couch.

"He gets really into his work," Judy said. "Settle in, we're not going anywhere until morning. He might have questions." They huddled together talking quietly. Idle chatter about nothing much. It had been a while since Jess' last episode and they were both nervous for the next, and Judy tried her best to distract her from it. It seemed distance had a lot to do with how the infection affected the infected... there was so much that still didn't make sense, but Judy was confident grandpa would figure out the rest and fill in the blanks.

As the night wore on, she and Jess both slowly drifted into a hazy half sleep, leaning against each other. She didn't remember falling asleep entirely, but she did remember waking up with her head on Jess' shoulder and a blanket over both of them. She lifted her head, looked across the room where Grandpa was working diligently. He met her eyes, smiled, waved her back to sleep. She knew she should try to readjust but… she settled back onto Jess' shoulder, closed her eyes, breathed in deep, and fell happily asleep. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn't dream.

* * *

Orion gently shook Judy awake early in the morning.

"Little Lion…" he whispered. She hummed sleepily. "Come on, I want to talk to you."

They walked to the backyard, stood together looking towards the sunrise.

"This place has really gone to shit," he grumbled. "My own damn fault. Been dead damn near 14 years and I haven't found the time to clean up? Excuses." He shook his head in disgust then turned to Judy. "Now. Let's talk science."

"Can you make a vaccine?" Judy asked eagerly. He breathed in deeply, hands on his hips, unaffected by the crisp morning air.

"Maybe," he said. "It's a tricky strain… You should know, the strain your friend has... It will eventually be fatal."

Judy's heart dropped.

"Eventually?" she demanded. "Well she's been infected for a long time already. What do you mean by 'eventually?'"

"Without getting rid of the initial infection, a person could survive possibly 15 to 20 years before being overwhelmed," he said. "Even after the infection is removed she'll need medical supervision for weeks after, especially being infected as long as she has been… How long _has_ she been infected?"

"It happened before my first birthday," Judy said. "I'll be 18 soon…. I guess about 17 years."

He said nothing, but she saw his forehead crease in concern.

"I don't get why no one has done anything about it until now," Judy said, frustrated. "You should see them all, Grandpa. Everyone in that town knows something but none of them want to do anything about it and get in trouble. No one wants to be the one to spill the secret. Well I'm about to bust that shit wide open. Cowards."

"So fierce, Little Lion," Orion said, and regarded her with a knowing smile. "I wonder what's got you so fired up? You know it's hard to hide feelings from ghosts, right?"

She stared pointedly at a tree in the distance, kicked the ground lightly.

"A lot of people are in danger," she said after a moment. "Military, government, the lab, the mayor, the goddamn bartender… whoever is covering it up is willing to let people die to keep their asses hidden."

"True," Orion said, nodded. "But that's not what I meant."

"Please don't ask about Jess," she said helplessly, squeezed her eyes shut and leaned back against the shed, arms pulled tight around her chest.

"Ok, I won't," he said. They stood in silence for a moment. Judy simmered quietly while Orion watched the birds and clouds with a serene smile. In the field behind the house, a flock of seagulls screeched and honked their displeasure over something. One in particular screamed above the rest, as if demanding Judy to confess. She clenched her fists, trying to block the bird out but-

"Fine, listen, I know it's weird," she blurted after a particularly violent seagull squawk. Orion's smile never faltered, but he turned to her, surprised. "I know she's older than me, yes. Kind of a lot older, yeah. I know she doesn't like me like that, and couldn't and _shouldn't_ do anything about if even if she did. I know, Grandpa but- _wow_, have you seen her?! And I know you haven't talked to her much but she's amazing- she's funny and tough and sometimes, on some words or when she's teasing me, her accent comes in strong and _wow_. I don't know what to do. I love this and I hate it. It's so… frustrating."

He listened patiently, nodded at all the right times. When she ran out of steam, he chuckled and simply said, "I know."

"Of course you do," she sighed, pushing off the shed and picking up a smooth rock, tossing it into the nearby woods. "You know everything. Well then, gramps… what do I do?"

"You want _my_ advice on women?" he grimaced. "My only girlfriend was an alien, and she busted my balls so bad I sent her right back into orbit where I found her… you know that, right?"

"Mhmm, well your situation was almost as weird as mine," Judy said. She found another rock, chucked it. "Maybe you could offer some insight." He laughed, shook his head.

"In all seriousness, Little Lion…." he sighed regretfully. "You're 17. She's an adult. It's fine to have feelings for her, but you have to be ready to accept that she doesn't, and won't, and _can't_… feel the same."

"I guess," Judy shrugged. Another rock. "I mean, I know I'm young, but it's not like I don't understand what I feel and what I want."

"It's true you've always been mature for your age," Orion said levelly. "And that's always been frustrating for you. You've leapt over every boundary you could but Judy, this is one fence you might have to leave unhopped."

"But I've never wanted anything this bad!" Judy argued back, launching the next rock over the treeline. "I've never had this much fun with someone. No one's ever known me as well as she does. I swear I'd give back everything else I took before people thought I was ready if I could just… have this. Have her. Life is stupid and unfair."

"You're talking to the single dad who ended up pregnant twice, unexpectedly," Orion deadpanned. "Tell me about it, kid. Life's full of punches like that. You have to keep in mind that you're not the only one affected by the things you want-"

"I know-"

"She's lived a long life so far, with years full of experiences," he pressed. "You're just starting out, Little Lion. You're on different playing fields entirely. What do you think she would want with a 17 year old?"

"I… I know, grandpa," Judy sighed, her deep down anger bubbling up. "I know. I'm not going to try anything stupid, I guess I'm just… letting off steam."

"I'm sorry," he said sadly and reached over to pat her shoulder. "I know it hurts, but-"

The door behind them burst open suddenly, and Jess hurried out and away down the winding path.

"Jess?" Judy called after her. She didn't even look back, just stormed away into the cold morning. "Huh, I wonder if Dylan-"

"Oh!" Orion said suddenly, gesturing at where Judy had been leaning. She stared blankly for a second at the intercom, her brain working overtime trying to come up with some other explanation, some possible way she hadn't just broadcasted her hormonal rantings straight to Jess… and came up blank.

"Oh god time to go _throw myself into the sea_," she growled in frustration, taking off at a run after the other woman. "See you later, grandpa!"

* * *

When Judy walked into the room, Jess' bag was half packed.

Jess heard the door open and froze, turned to face Judy. For a second they stared at each other silently, both afraid to speak, to acknowledge the truth hanging between them.

"I'm sorry." Judy broke the silence first. "I… I really did try not to let it affect you at all. It was never supposed to be your problem."

Jess opened and closed her mouth a few times, searching for words. She shuffled her feet, sat on the bed.

"I think I knew," she said. "No one's ever been so consistently and strongly on my side before, ever. Not my parents, not Dylan, not even Christie. You're a wonderful friend, Judy, but…. you know it can't be more."

"Of course," she agreed readily. "Seriously, Jess, I'm so sorry you heard that. I didn't tell _anyone_ because I was so scared of making things weird for you. I didn't even want to tell my grandpa but… I don't know, I guess it's been getting to me. I thought talking to him about it would be fine, and I know he wouldn't tell anyone, but that damn intercom- I'm sorry."

"Hey, now, don't cry," Jess said, standing up, crossing the room and holding Judy's shoulders. "Look at me, little sleuth. Darling, it's ok. Everything is ok. I'm not angry. I don't think differently of you. Everything is ok."

"No it's not, because…" Judy sniffled, horrified that the tears didn't stop. "But it's… no, never mind."

Jess frowned, confused, but all at once seemed to understand.

"Right…" she sighed, squeezed Judy's shoulders sadly. "Would it be easier for you if I left?"

"No," Judy said immediately, looking up and meeting sharp blue eyes gone soft. "I was always afraid of scaring you away… Can we just try to go back to normal?"

"Are you sure?" Jess asked, watching the girl's face carefully. "I never want to do anything to hurt you. If you need time or space, I understand."

"No, I want you to stay… this whole thing is more important than my feelings," Judy said. Her voice was thick and trembling, and her throat ached, but she pushed past it. "When I talked to Grandpa this morning… Jess, the paper was right. It's terminal. He says 15-20 years after being infected, unless you get treatment."

"And it's already been, what, 17 years?" Jess mused, her eyes darting around the room as she thought. "Hm. I don't like those numbers. How's the vaccine going?"

"He… didn't really say," Judy replied. "I'm sure he'll have a breakthrough. He has to." But what if he doesn't? She stared helplessly, her heart twisting itself in knots at the thought of doing so much, coming so far, and losing Jess anyway.

"You can't fix everything, Judy," Jess sighed, smiling a sad smile, reaching out and tucking a stray strand of hair behind Judy's ear. "One step at a time."

"I'll figure it out. I have to," she said, lying back on the pillow, one arm behind her head, the other across her stomach. "I'm not letting anything happen to you. I promise."

Jess moved her bag off the bed, onto the floor, and laid back next to Judy. Their arms pressed together warmly, and Judy's heart lifted in an instant.

"So…" Jess said, catching Judy's glance and smirking back. "You like my accent?"

"Oh god don't even start," Judy groaned, rolling onto her side, curling into herself. "Forget all of what I said. Forget everything."

"But it was so sweet," Jess laughed, and Judy felt her prop herself up on her elbow. "It's been a long time since anyone's said such nice things about me."

"I'm an idiot," Judy groaned into her hands. "And yeah I like your accent. It's... ugh, it's cute. Wow I'm stupid. I'm going away now."

And slowly, carefully, dramatically, Judy slid off the bed onto the floor while Jess laughed.

* * *

Over the next few days, Grandpa Orion worked on the vaccine tirelessly, day and night. He consulted friends alien and human, and finally, finally when Jess and Judy made their way to his lab one night he swung the door open with good news.

"There's a Mother Plant somewhere in Strangerville," he told them excitedly, tousling his long, unkempt hair as they took their seats on the couch. "She puts out these spores, that's where they're coming from, that's where the infection is coming from! A Mother Plant."

Judy said nothing.

"Now the way it works is interesting-" he continued, practically vibrating with all the information he was dying to share. "It's not the spores themselves that cause the odd behavior- Jess' episodes. It's the Mother Plant herself using the spores as controllers for the hosts. There's a range- that's why Jess has been unaffected so far from Strangerville."

"That would explain the uh… incident at the lab," Judy said under her breath with a pointed look at Jess. Jess grimaced at the memory. "You were closer to her."

"So the vaccine," Orion pressed on, barely noticing their aside. "It will need to be given while the spores are active- Jess, you'll need to be actively controlled by the Mother Plant in order for them to work. You'll need to be in one of your spells."

"Hold on gramps," Judy spoke up. "She has to go through that again? We can't just jab her now and the vaccine will attack the spores once they're active? Or like, her immune system can't learn how to attack the infection from the vaccine?"

"The infection suppresses her immune system by a lot," Orion said, and then turned to Jess. "Otherwise you would have kicked the infection a long time ago on your own. There's a few boosters to this vaccine. The first attacks the infection directly. The rest update your immune system with information on how to keep from being infected again. You'll need the first vaccine and at least 2 boosters before you go anywhere _near_ that plant."

"I told you he could do anything," Judy whispered to Jess. Jess smiled, relief written all over her face.

"I can't thank you enough, sir," she said, holding her hand out for a handshake. Orion laughed and instead pulled her into a tight hug. For just a second she hesitated, but quickly melted into it.

"My pleasure," he smiled, giving her shoulders a quick squeeze before letting go. "I've never saved a life before. Except that time Shep tried to eat a rock and I had to reach in and pull it from his throat but… well, that's just dad stuff."

Judy thanked him again. For the first time in months her shoulders felt light, her mind a little less cluttered. In the small case her grandpa was holding, was the vaccine that would save Jess' life. And it was hers. Jess would be ok. Her heart leapt and soared, and she swore to herself that as soon as Jess was better she was going to cut that damn plant off at the roots and douse them in poison.

"I'll be in touch," Orion promised. "You have my number, Little Lion. Let me know when you give her the first vaccine and any side effects there might be."

She promised she would, and they said their goodbyes. The walk down the winding path was windy tonight, and they huddled close for warmth as they walked. Judy clutched the case tightly under one arm, the other threaded through Jess'.

"Think we can catch the 9 am train?" Judy asked eagerly. As much as she wasn't excited to see Jess possessed again, she was more than ready to try the vaccine. Ever since Orion's prognosis of 15-20 years, she'd had an uncomfortable itchy feeling somewhere in her brain. Now, with a course of action in mind, it was starting to subside.

"Maybe," Jess replied. "Let's see it's…." She pulled out her phone. "A little after midnight. That's not too bad. I bet if we go to sleep as soon as we get back and get really strict with ourselves in the morning, we could make it. And sleep on the train."

Back in the room, they laid facing each other, a foot apart and failing to get to sleep. Judy laid awake, excited about the vaccines and Jess… Jess seemed troubled.

"Something wrong?" Judy asked, noticing the way her brow crinkled.

"You know Dylan tried to call me yesterday," she said. "I um. Ignored the call. I wasn't busy. You were talking to your grandpa… I could have taken it. It could have been about Christie, but I ignored him."

A question burned in Judy's mind, something she wasn't sure she wanted to hear about, but needed to know at the same time. She weighed it carefully in her head before asking.

"How did you meet him?"

Jess froze, meeting Judy's eyes with hers. Blue eyes wide, worried.

"My parents were immigrants," Jess started quietly, sounding a little like she didn't want to be heard. "I was born here, just in time to be a citizen. We didn't have much, but they had so many plans for me, so many big dreams; doctor, lawyer, singer- yes really. No I can't sing and no they didn't care. They didn't really ask what I wanted."

"What _did_ you want?" Judy whispered, not wanting to break whatever spell had Jess absently twirling a lock of Judy's hair that had fallen on the pillow between them.

"To go places," Jess said simply. "See things. Do something that matters. Make it count, I guess." They shared a quick smile before Jess continued. "Anyway, Dylan and I had some classes together in high school and he... hmm, decided I was his. He was exciting- he lived on his own and had a car, and I guess I thought he was cute or something so I went with it. For a while it really was exciting. We snuck out at night, took a few road trips but uh…" she faltered for a second, frowned. "The road trips always ended the same. If you know what I mean."

"Oh," she said with a grimace.

"It got old," Jess sighed, rolling her eyes. "But he wasn't willing to let me go so easily. It went on for a few months, until we were about 17. He had this really sketchy friend, Danny. They were constantly texting, back and forth. I mean everything one did, the other knew about. So um, one night…" Her voice shook, and she shook her head, swiped at her eyes.

Judy reached for her free hand, held it tightly.

"One night Dylan came to pick me up in the middle of the night," she continued. "I snuck out, we went on a road trip, the usual. But when he brought me back there were police everywhere. Ambulances, fire trucks, the whole apartment building was roped off. I couldn't get in. I couldn't get anyone to tell me what was going on. I had to hear it from a reporter that there was a burglary gone wrong. I don't know how I knew it was them but… I knew."

"Jess…." Judy was, for once in her life, speechless. She listened to Jess cry, searched her brain for something, anything. Nothing would fix it. So she instead reached over, scooped Jess into her arms, held her against her tightly.

Jess offered no resistance. She curled into Judy, buried her face in her hair, continued her story in a muffled voice.

"I know it was Danny," she said, her voice shaking and trembling. "He was their lead suspect. There was a trial but there just wasn't enough proof. I was Dylan's alibi but it _kills_ me because if Danny did it I _know_ Dylan was in on it. Or at least knew about it. If I wasn't such a stupid, desperate girl they wouldn't have-" She cut herself off with a choked sob, and Judy held her tighter. She still didn't know what to say. There wasn't much to be said.

"I found out I was pregnant with Christie in the middle of the trial," she sniffled. "I didn't have anywhere else to go and… that was that."

"Jess…" Judy breathed.

"I know," she replied. "It's an awful love story. I'm not sure what keeps me from leaving… some leftover fear from when I was a poor, scared kid with no other choice, I guess. And Christie."

Judy perked up at the word 'leaving.' She didn't think Jess would even consider it.

"You want to leave?" she asked. Cautious, careful. Not pushing, not pulling, just curious.

"I couldn't," Jess said. She pulled back from Judy and wiped her eyes, steadying her voice. "Christie still needs me."

"She'll be 18 soon," Judy reminded her. "She wants to move out, remember? She's got that internship in Oasis Springs… maybe you could move with her."

"I don't know, Judy," she sighed. "It's been a terrible 18 years but… living with a person for 18 years, you get used to their presence. Even if it's not a good presence. It's what I know."

"It doesn't mean that's all there is, though," Judy insisted, sitting up and kneeling over Jess excitedly. "All my life, Strangerville was uh. Strange. Weird plants everywhere, my parents locked down the house every night- I mean, triple bolted every door and window, curtains drawn, lights out by sunset _or else_ \- and you… Jess, you were just a faceless, nameless zombie stumbling down the street outside my window. That was all I knew. That was my normal. Just because something's always been a certain way, doesn't mean it has to stay that way. It can be better."

'Maybe," Jess said, rolling onto her back and stretching. "But first thing's first- the infection might kill me anyway and then it won't matter if I want to leave or not."

"I won't let that happen," Judy promised. "We have the vaccine, we have the poison, we have the ventilators… it's all going to be ok." Jess looked up fondly at the girl kneeling over her, chuckled.

"I don't know why, but I believe you," she said. "Let's just take things one step at a time for now, but… after this is all over, who knows. Anything could happen."

They talked for a little longer, slowly drifting closer and closer to sleep, and when Judy finally went under, she dreamed about a ghostly teenage Jess, standing in the crater surrounded by a billowing dark cloud of spores. The ground cracked open and Dylan crawled out behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled them both down into the emptiness. Judy ran towards the fissure, reaching for Jess who stared back blankly. And the emptiness swallowed them all.


	4. Chapter 4

She woke up to sunlight streaming in, Jess sleeping peacefully next to her. She looked untroubled, unburdened. Only watching her sleep did Judy realize how often Jess' brow furrowed with nerves, how much she nervously clenched her jaw, frowned. Some strange emotion flowed up from somewhere deep down; it was overwhelming, debilitating, pushed out everything else and rendered her incapable of doing anything but lying there, propped up on one elbow, eyes filling with tears. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before, and there in their quiet, peaceful corner of Windenberg, with the smell of lavender and wood enveloping them both, Judy thought this must be what it's like to be in love.

A scary thought. A devastating thought. Jess would never feel the same and that was all there was to it. She would do all she could to save Jess, to help her find the courage to leave her awful husband, and then watch from the sidelines as Jess built a new life with someone else. Despite the gnawing protest in her chest, she would do it anyway, happily.

Her tears spilled over, ran down her cheek, splashed onto the sheets; she wiped her face hastily, impatient with herself. Such a crybaby. It was almost 8; their alarm would be going off soon. She carefully climbed out of bed, washed her face in the bathroom down the hall, took a few minutes to talk herself up to going back. She knew Jess would give her the same sleepy smile she had all week, roll over towards her, blink up at her and ask how she slept. It had become routine, and Judy craved it almost as much as she dreaded the stirring of the jealous monster locked away inside of her.

She got back to the room a few minutes before 8, but Jess was already awake. The door opened, their eyes met, and Jess smiled, blinked sleepily, waved a tiny wave. Judy returned it and sat on the edge of the bed.

"You're up a little early," Jess commented.

"So are you," Judy retorted, and the other woman shrugged.

"I uh…" she paused, laughed uncomfortably. "I felt that you weren't there and got worried." Judy smiled and her heart thrummed painfully.

"Just to the bathroom. Ready to do this thing? With the vaccines and all?"

"Of course," Jess grinned, sitting up, stretching; the hem of her shirt crept up her stomach and Judy looked away hastily. "I've been ready since we learned there could be a cure."

They dressed quickly and made their way downstairs to return the keys to Aunt Edie.

"You'd better hurry," Edie said when she saw them. "I don't want you to miss your train... or do I? More time with my niece and her friend would only be a good thing. But I'm sure you two have other things to do- ah, sorry, I talk too much. Come here."

She pulled Judy into a rib-aching hug, kissed her cheek, then turned to Jess and hugged her as well.

To Judy's surprise, Jess returned it easily with a laugh.

"It was nice to meet more of Judy's family," she said graciously. "I see why she's such a lovely person."

"Isn't she great?" Aunt Edie asked excitedly, reaching over and squeezing Judy's shoulder. "We're so proud of her. All of us are. She's special."

Jess met Judy's eyes, smiled, gave a quick wink and agreed with Aunt Edie.

"Well, get on," Aunt Edie said suddenly, apparently remembering the circumstances. "You'll miss your train. Go on. I'll see you guys again, yeah? Maybe for next year's Windenfest!"

Jess and Judy spilled into the street, laughing as Aunt Edie shooed them out with a broom. They hurried back through town, down winding cobbled roads, and made it to the train station with time to spare. Judy's leg bounced nervously as they waited and Jess sat stiff and silent next to her. The tickets in their hands had "Strangerville" plastered on them in several places, and the reminder sobered them both considerably.

As for Judy, she was excited but uneasy. She trusted her grandpa but… these were essentially untested vaccines. She was sure they would work but there was no real guarantee, and what would be the price if they didn't?

As for Jess… well, she could only guess. She chanced a look at the woman next to her, who was staring straight ahead, jaw set, eyes hard. Unreadable, but that alone was telling. Judy nudged her gently with her shoulder, met her eyes and raised her brows slightly. Jess shook her head, looked ahead. Slow, controlled breathing. Barely blinking.

Judy knew the feeling well. She leaned over very slightly so her arm was pressed against Jess'. It was familiar and comforting to her and she hoped it would be at least a little bit to Jess too. She felt the other woman's shoulders relax against her, and Judy smiled to herself as they waited.

The train arrived before long. They boarded, full of dread and found their seats, and far too quickly were approaching Roswell station just outside Strangerville. Judy noticed the change in Jess right away. The tension, the shrinking posture, drooping shoulders and hands folded neatly in her lap. Their eyes met; Judy was taken aback by the fear looking back at her.

"I already hear her," Jess muttered as they pulled into the station. "She's happy I'm back."

Judy looked out the window at the eerie green sky, the fog enveloping the town, the billowing, churning cloud in the distance. It was truly awful to be home.

They shuffled their way to Jess' car, packed their bags in the back and drove silently back into town.

"Dylan should be home from work," Jess said. "I'll go in alone and deal with him and meet you at Old Penelope… ugh, whenever I'm done with him."

"You want to do the vaccine tonight?" Judy asked, and Jess nodded.

"Where's the sense in waiting?" she said. She hadn't relaxed her jaw since they'd left Windenberg. "The faster we get me vaccinated, the faster we can fight this stupid plant- agh…" Jess paused, rubbed her temple, shook herself. "Damn thing zapped me. What the hell."

The rest of the ride was quiet and worried for both of them, and when they turned onto their street, Jess frowned at the empty driveway of the Sigworth house.

"Huh," she mused as they pulled in. "He must be… working late? Go on home, Judy. Get yourself unpacked and I'll text you when I'm ready."

Despite the feeling she should stay, Judy retrieved her bags from the back of the car and hurried away across the street. Her mothers sat together on the couch watching TV and looked up when she entered. Tali jumped up and rushed to hug her daughter. Maki watched sadly from the couch.

"How was the trip?" she asked. "How's Edie?"

"It was nice," Judy said. "Grandpa says hi. Aunt Edie says hi."

"You're going to school tomorrow, right?" Tali prodded, and Judy sighed, shrugged.

"I mean, I already have all my credits," Judy said. "I'm still passing all my classes. I've been keeping up with the work- I go to the school once a week to get what I missed. They're actually pretty cool with it."

"Small town schools," Maki scoffed. "This wouldn't fly back in the Valley."

"Well we're _not_ back in the valley," Judy sighed, frustrated. "We're in a little busted up ghost town because you two were running _from_ the valley. And now my teacher is cool with me missing school because she also misses school every other day, because she's busy being possessed. I'm sorry guys, I'll see you later. I have to unpack and get some stuff done. I love you."

She left her stunned parents in the living room and slammed her door behind her. It felt like it had been years since she'd been in there; it still looked the same, smelled the same… so why did it feel so different? She wandered to the mirror and looked herself over; tired, baggy eyes. Tense shoulders rising to her ears, her hair unkempt and tossed in a lazy ponytail. A long, faint scratch down her face. She suddenly realized her birthday had come and gone and seemingly aged her by 100 years instead of 1.

She was the one who had changed. She looked around; everything pale pink and flowered, the bright splashes of color in the rugs and curtains. School papers and dirty laundry lay scattered across the hardwood floor. Pictures of the strange plant in the side yard pinned to a corkboard above her desk. She wasn't even sure where she fit into the place anymore.

So she abandoned the unpacking process and burst out into the cool night and made her way across the street. Lightning bugs flashed around her, and a dust devil stirred up with the constant unnatural breeze. It swept past her feet, pelting her with tiny rocks and debris, but she kept walking. Jess' house stood dark and silent; she quickened her pace, panic setting in. The front door was unlocked, and after a moment's consideration, she pushed it open, peeked her head in. It was dark, but she could just barely make out the shape of Jess sitting on the floor in the middle of what seemed to be an empty living room.

"Jess?" she whispered into the darkness. "Can I turn on a light?"

No reply. So she felt around the wall for a light switch, found one, flicked it on.

The room was bare. Every piece of furniture, every decoration, gone. Jess sat, legs crossed, in the middle of the floor, staring at a piece of paper in front of her. She didn't look up as Judy crossed the room and sat next to her. No reaction as Judy wrapped her arms around her, pulled her close, rested her head on her shoulder. She didn't have to read the letter to get the gist of what it said; one look around at the empty house was enough.

"I don't know where he took Christie," Jess said. "I don't even know if she would want me to find her."

"This has to be kidnapping or something," Judy murmured. "Maybe you could, I don't know… report them missing or-"

"I haven't been here for her," Jess sniffled. "I've always been too busy with work, or uh, sick. I have no right to try to keep her here. She has my number if she wants to contact me. If not…."

"I'm so sorry, Jess," Judy said and hugged her tighter. "It's not your fault, you know. It was just… bad luck. Being infected... you couldn't have known that would happen."

"I can't get that time back," Jess insisted. "I missed half her life… I don't know her at all, she's like a stranger and it's my own fault."

"Not your fault," Judy reminded her. "If you want to blame anyone, blame the lab, or the mayor or-"

"I have to blame myself too," Jess said resolutely. "At the end of the day it was _my_ career and _my_ choices that put my family at risk. It's at least partially my responsibility, and these are the consequences."

"Jess…" Judy trailed off helplessly, sighed. "How about we just… rest tonight. We can try the vaccine tomorrow."

"No, let's do it tonight," Jess said. "I need to do something useful. Can you sleep over?"

"Of course," Judy agreed. They looked around the empty living room.

"I don't have any furniture here," Jess said blankly.

"Old Penelope, then," Judy said resolutely, standing up and offering Jess her hand. She took it readily, stood, rubbed her neck, her jaw. She stretched her shoulders and groaned, scowled.

"I need this to be over," she said, grimacing as she swung her arms. "Let's go. Now."

* * *

Old Penelope welcomed them warmly. Cool metal walls and concrete floors and warm lighting, cozy and private. Jess sat on the bed while Judy stood over her, preparing the vaccine.

"Nervous?" Judy asked.

"A little," Jess admitted. "Has to be done though. Either it'll help, or... or you'll know Orion needs to work more on it."

"You're sure you want to do this?" Judy asked one last time, tapping the syringe, squeezing out the air bubbles. "We could wait for grandpa to tweak it. You know he's still improving it."

"No time to waste," Jess insisted, closing her eyes and taking a deep steadying breath. "I'm on borrowed time, little sleuth. What's the worst that could happen?"

Judy sighed, squeezed Jess' shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Jess…" she said as she tied the bed sheets around Jess' arms, from her shoulders down, then her ankles. "I wish there was another way. Is that too tight?"

"Not tight enough," Jess chided. "I could break out of that."

"I don't want to hurt you," Judy replied, tightening them nonetheless. "This feels so wrong."

"It's ok, darling," Jess assured her as she secured the sheets. "Do you have the knife?"

Judy held up the combat knife she'd found in George's dresser years ago. The blade was long enough to get under the sheets in an emergency, and sharp enough to slice through them easily- they'd tested that beforehand on an extra set of sheets.

"I trust you, little sleuth," Jess said earnestly, looking up at her friend with wide, worried eyes. "I'm nervous but I trust you. I know you'll do all you can."

"I just hope it works," Judy said. She didn't trust herself as much as Jess did, and her heart thudded nervously in her chest, her mind whirling with worries and possibilities.

"Listen to me," Jess said firmly. "It's out of our hands now. This is the only choice we have. The only choice _I_ have. With the vaccine, I might die. Without it, I _will_ die. I trust you to do what's best for me, and this is it. Do you understand, Judy?"

Judy nodded, brushed Jess' hair back out of her face. It was as perfect as always, though a few strands always fell loose here or there. She wondered, briefly, why Jess never left her hair down. She imagined for a second Jess' face framed by flowing black locks, big blue eyes shining back at her. She smiled fondly, hardly realizing she was still stroking Jess' hair.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Judy promised. "Whatever happens, we'll figure it out."

All that was left to do now was wait. A half hour passed uneventfully, and Judy, overcome by boredom, dug into the bookshelf and started reading out loud to Jess. They tried to laugh and enjoy the story but the restraints were clearly uncomfortable, and the syringe laid on a tray on the table next to the bed, reminding them of what had to happen eventually.

Finally, around 2 am, as Jess and Judy both started to doze, Jess contorted forcefully, twitched, cried out.

Judy leapt to her feet, placed her hands on Jess' shoulders, looked her straight in the eyes.

"It's ok, Jess," she said. "I've got you. I'm going to take care of you. I… I love you. Relax, let it happen, ok? I love you so much. It's going to be ok."

Some unidentifiable emotion flashed across Jess' face before it locked into the crazed smile Judy dreaded. She tried not to think about what she'd said, and whether Jess heard it or would remember. It felt right in the moment. Like something she should hear just in case those were her last sane moments. She pushed it out of her mind and watched Smiler Jess struggle against the restraints.

They'd agreed Judy shouldn't talk to her, for fear of shattering the soundproof glass and losing the opportunity. It felt wrong, but she prepared the vaccine coldly, silently. No eye contact, minimal body contact.

Everything in her cried out against it as she sanitized the small gap in the sheets she'd left on Jess' forearm, lined up the needle, took a deep breath and punctured skin. Smiler Jess snarled, groaned. Judy did her best to ignore it and pushed the plunger, emptying the contents of the syringe into Jess.

For a moment nothing happened. Smiler Jess growled and grimaced as Judy wiped the injection site with an alcohol wipe and slapped a bandage on. But after a moment, tears filled her eyes, the manic smile faltered, turned to a frown. Jess looked up at her, eyes wide and unbelieving.

"Did it work?" she asked faintly, a single tear streaming down her cheek. Judy reached out, touched her shoulder lightly, unsure. It seemed to be working but… Jess' eyelids fluttered, she swayed in place on the bed. Almost instantly she went pale, her head drooped, and she fell over, slumped on the bed.

"Jess?" Judy said in a hushed whisper. She rushed forward, touched her face, pulled back her eyelids and shined her phone light in them. No response whatsoever. Her breathing was shallow and rapid. Her pulse was faint. So faint.

In a panic she grabbed the knife and sliced through the restraints. Her mind and heart raced together, and for just a second she froze. Her rational mind screamed uselessly into the gale of panic overtaking her. She'd killed Jess. She'd killed her best friend and love of her life, she would go to prison and the town would be swallowed-

"She needs a doctor," Orion's voice seemed to be right next to her… then she realized it was. Somewhere in the midst of her panic she'd called him, and his voice in her ear pulled her back. "The infection must have been keeping her body maintained. Without it, she's not strong enough to support herself. I'd hoped this wouldn't happen. She needs help, _now_."

For just a second, Judy panicked uselessly but suddenly, next to her, another voice.

"Come on Little Sparrow, I'll help," George Cahill's ghostly outline stood next to her. Together they lifted Jess between them and carried her upstairs.

"The nearest hospital is 40 minutes away," Judy lamented. "We need to call an ambulance."

"Nonsense," George waved his hand dismissively. "Just hold on. Brace yourself, this is going to be… unpleasant."

He reared back and rushed forward suddenly, and Judy could feel his essence surrounding her, inside of her. Cold, burning, foreign.

"Get a good grip on her," George commanded. Judy wrapped her arms around Jess as they slowly lifted off the ground. "Legs too, Little Sparrow."

So Judy wrapped herself entirely around Jess, holding her close, cradling her head, breathing in her hair, her skin. She was so cold and limp.

"Hurry," Judy whimpered, and they took off. Flying over a flat expanse of desert, over rivers and streams and peaks and valleys. Strange new vistas, with an endless starry sky above. Faintly, as if from far away, the sound of an ancient jet engine roared.

"You should see where I've been, Little Sparrow," George said as they sailed along. "You wouldn't believe what's beyond this world. Me and Old Penelope, we've been exploring for years and there's no end in sight. It _is_ good to be back, though."

"Is she going to die?" Judy asked helplessly. "I can't let her die, I can't George… I shouldn't have done this. I shouldn't have gotten involved."

"Stow that talk, Little Sparrow," George chided gently. "I told you you were going to do great things, and this… saving your friend. Saving your town. This is what it was. I knew you wouldn't let me down."

"What if I can't do it?" Judy sobbed, clinging tighter to Jess. "What if I let everyone die?"

"That's not the spirit I know," George said. "The Judy I remember never gave up. The Judy I knew pushed and pushed until there was nothing left to be done and then pushed some more. Have you lost that?"

"No," Judy said, then thought carefully. "But if Jess dies-"

"Then finish it in her memory," he insisted. "But between you me and the stars, I think it's all going to be ok. Hold on, Little Sparrow, we're almost there."

Moments later, they touched down gently. George separated from them, and Judy dragged Jess the last few feet into the emergency room doors.

It was a whirlwind from there; a bevy of nurses and doctors swarmed her, took Jess away, lifted her into a gurney and strapped an oxygen mask on. Judy stood helplessly, watching her be wheeled away to be worked on.

An administrator took her aside and asked her some questions about what happened. Judy thought it best to be as honest as possible, and told her the basics of the infection. The woman had heard of it, and seemed to understand.

"My grandpa developed the vaccine," Judy said. "I think it worked, but he said her body was probably being kept alive by the infection and removing it- it might have…"

Her heart slowly, surely, painfully shattered in her chest and she dissolved into tears.

"So the infection is, essentially, gone?" the woman asked. "And it's just a matter of her body being too weak now?"

"I guess so," Judy whimpered. "My grandpa knows more, I just wish he was here- he's Orion Koch, and he-"

"I've heard of him," the woman said, surprised. "Is there any way you could get us in contact with him? We could absolutely use his help."

"I got here as fast as I could," Orion rushed through the doors as if on queue, looking around wildly. "How is she?"

"They're working on her now," the woman stood up and walked over to him. "We could use your help."

And Judy was forgotten completely, sitting in a cold waiting room chair crying as silently as she could.

A cold, large hand rested gently on her back, and she looked up to see George sitting next to her.

"You're doing great, Little Sparrow," he said gently. "It's all a matter of waiting now."

"That's the hardest part," Judy said tearfully. "I wish I could do something- I wish I could see her or talk to her or…. George... I don't know what to do."

"Be strong for her," he said. "All you can do for her now is keep your head up, keep working at this. She's in good, capable hands. Now you need to do your part and destroy the source of the infection."

"I'm going to burn that fucking lab to the ground," Judy growled. "I'm going to hack the plant to pieces and burn the crater."

Hatred flowed through her, then despair, then hope followed by more despair. She didn't know how long she sat there before falling asleep, and eventually Orion returned to her and shook her gently awake. George was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, little Lion," he said, smiling sadly at her. "She's stable but not awake. You can see her now if you want."


	5. Chapter 5

Jess lay still and silent in the hospital bed, an IV in her arm and a nasal cannula in her nose. She slept heavily, her chest moving up and down with each breath- but it was so good to see her breathing. Judy pulled a chair to her bedside, reached for her hand, held it tightly.

"She's pretty heavily sedated right now," the nurse who had led Judy to the room stood in the doorway. "She needs rest. Her body needs time to repair itself and absorb the blood we gave her."

"But she'll recover?" Judy asked, bringing Jess' hand to her face and resting her lips on it. "She's going to be ok?"

The nurse hesitated, sighed.

"I can't make any promises, ma'am," she said. "These are… extraordinary circumstances. We're hopeful, though. She's breathing almost entirely on her own. That's a good sign."

With that the nurse disappeared down the hall and Judy squeezed Jess' hand, kissed it lightly. She was so tired. She couldn't recall the last time she'd had a good night of sleep, and tonight-actually this morning, as it was almost 4- wouldn't be any better. She yawned, rested her head on the mattress at Jess' side, watching the rise and fall of Jess' breathing as she drifted back to sleep.

She dreamed of Jess, standing in the crater surrounded by fire. Flames licked at her arms and legs, threatening to devour her entirely. Smiler Jess lay dead on the ground behind her, and in the background the Mother Plant rose above it all, larger than life and screeching horribly, tendrils and vines reaching to the sky, to the town, crushing everything and everyone Judy knew with one swipe-

"Excuse me, darling," a voice woke Judy about midday. Sunlight streamed in through the blinds as a nurse bustled around, checking Jess' vitals. "Hate to wake you but this has to be done."

"Do whatever you have to," Judy said, sitting up; her back cracked painfully as she did. She was pleased to see Jess still breathing, the color in her cheeks almost as rosy and bright as it normally was.

"This is a strong lady, here," the nurse said appreciatively. "I never seen someone so close to dead as she was when they brought her in. I thought I was delaying the inevitable but my god, look at her."

"You worked on her last night?" Judy breathed, her heart going out to the woman as she felt for Jess' pulse.

"Sure did," the nurse- Delphine, according to her name badge- smiled widely. "We thought she was… well, we all tried our best but she scared us good a few times. I've never seen someone sucked dry like that. That infection y'all got in Strangerville is no joke. Jess here is a strong, strong lady."

Judy smiled, holding her hand tightly as Delphine switched out her IV bag.

"Little dehydrated yet, but she's coming along nicely," Delphine said between bouts of humming as she worked. "This bag is a booster for the vaccine. Your grandpa said the first booster is vital and needs to be given soon. We're taking good care of her." Her eyes flickered to Jess and Judy's clasped hands, and her eyes sparkled.

"Are you the wife?" she asked teasingly. "Girlfriend?"

"Just a friend," Judy said. Stoic. Delphine chuckled, nodded.

"Uh huh," she said doubtfully. "Well, Jess' friend… you'll be happy to know everything's looking great. Doc's planning on taking her off sedatives in the morning and letting her wake up naturally as her body recovers."

Judy thanked her profusely, and when she left, she took a few minutes to call her moms. They didn't argue, didn't fuss, just asked her to please consider going back to school soon. She made no promises.

She hardly left Jess' side the rest of the day. She sat back in the chair, Jess' hand in hers, watching TV, scrolling idly on her phone, reading ebooks out loud to Jess. The sun slowly crawled across the sky, nurses popped in and out and still Judy stayed, only leaving the room for the odd snack or bathroom break, and for a shower in the room's bathroom. Night time came, and Delphine came in to check up on them.

"I'm supposed to make visitors leave at 9," she said regretfully. "But… if you're the girlfriend, I just _couldn't_." There was a long pause, Delphine raised her eyebrows, waiting.

"Y…yeah," Judy agreed hesitantly. "I am."

"Then stay as long as you like," she said. "Just excuse me a second while I check a few things."

Judy sat back and watched Delphine poke and prod and fiddle with the IV bag.

"I'll make a note at the front desk that you're staying," Delphine promised on her way out. "I'll be heading home soon but if anyone else gives you grief, tell them Delphine said to check with reception. You two have a good night."

Judy sighed, watched Jess sleep for a minute. _Girlfriend_. It wasn't lying, not really. Delphine knew that wasn't the case. She was just exploiting a loophole, because Jess needed someone. Dylan wouldn't answer his phone, even after several voicemails from nurses telling him his wife's condition. If he wasn't going to sit at Jess' side, Judy would. If he wasn't going to wait with bated breath for her to wake up, Judy would. If he wasn't going to love her, Judy certainly would do the best job of it she could. Someone had to.

She fell asleep around midnight, hand clutching Jess', and woke up the same way in the morning. The room was dark, and the horizon was just starting to glow with the impending sunrise. A single ray of light streamed through the window, painting Jess glowing gold. Judy smiled, reached up, pushed her hair out of her face. Her breathing was stronger now, her color back to normal. It was a huge weight off of Judy's shoulders, to see Jess looking almost like herself. Now if she would just open her eyes, smile at her, call her 'Little Sleuth' again or, maybe this time, 'little idiot.' She would accept either, and she was beyond ready to apologize to Jess for injecting her in the first place.

The doctor from the first night and a nurse came in at 8 to stop the sedatives. It was as simple and anticlimactic as switching out the IV bag like they'd done several times since the night before. This time, the doctor told her, it was just saline solution.

"When will she wake up?" Judy asked.

"Depends," the doctor said, pulling back Jess' eyelids, shining a light in. "Her body will have to dilute the sedatives and how long that can take varies widely. We'll leave you with her. Just keep an eye on her, call us if she wakes up."

As quickly as they came, they left, and Judy watched with bated breath. Jess' breathing stayed the same deep, steady rhythm, and her eyelids lay closed and still, eyelashes heavy on her cheeks. Morning turned to afternoon, afternoon turned to night, and night dragged on.

When the next nurse came in to check up on them, Judy expressed her concern that Jess was taking so long to wake up.

"Are you sure she's ok?" she asked.

"It might be a little longer than anticipated," the nurse replied. "It's a lot to come back from."

"But she'll come back, right?"

No response.

Judy barely slept that night. Several times she imagined movement or noise from Jess and every time she woke up disappointed, with fresh new fear searing through her mind. Another day started and Judy hardly noticed. That afternoon her moms brought her fresh clothes, dinner, her stuffed coolala, and a stack of homework. Judy realized with a sinking feeling that they'd been to the school and talked to the office, and knew they weren't quite as okay with her skipping as she'd made it seem.

"They want you at school tomorrow," Maki said.

"I don't think I can," Judy protested in a low voice. "I need to be here."

"Why?" Tali demanded, tossing the thick folder of schoolwork onto a side table. Judy shushed her, but she made no effort to be quiet. "Judy you're being ridiculous."

"Look at her," Judy urged, gesturing at the woman asleep next to her. "I can't go."

"They're talking about pressing charges, Judy," Maki said from the doorway, hands on her hips. "You've missed more days than you've gone. We could get in serious trouble."

"What if she wakes up and I'm not here?" Judy argued. "She'll think I didn't care enough to stay."

"She's not your problem," Maki shot back. "It's great that you're trying to be a good friend, but-"

"This is so much more important than school," Judy said. She stood up, ushered her moms into the hall. "This is so much more than you guys understand. I mean.. What do you think I've been doing when I skip? I'm curious."

"I don't know, moral support?" Tali shrugged. "Just keeping her mind off of things. Right?"

"I've been into the lab in the crater," Judy said. "We went to see grandpa so that he could develop a vaccine for the infection and a poison to kill the Mother Plant under the lab. "

"Is that what happened to Jess?" Tali asked. "You injected her with something and that's why she's dying?"

"No!" Judy retorted, then thought for a second and winced. "Technically yes, I guess. It cured her but the infection was what was keeping her body going."

"This is… too much," Maki shook her head and turned away. "This is insane. I promise you Judy, whatever problems you think you're solving, you're not. You're coming home with us and going back to school tomorrow."

"But I-"

"Let's go, _now_," Maki said, her face hard and her voice harder. "Before you hospitalize anyone else."

And Judy sighed, frustrated. She wasn't going to win this one, but she was damn sure going to bargain.

"Just… let me stay until tomorrow morning?" Judy pleaded. "I'll get my own ride home. Please? Please."

"Oh for the love of-" Tali took a deep steadying breath, let it out. "You need to be home by 7. If you're not they're sending a truant officer to find you and we'll tell them exactly where to look."

"Yeah, ok, 7," Judy agreed hastily. "Love you guys. See you tomorrow."

And with that she was back in the room, back to Jess' side.

"Hey Jess," she started quietly. She'd been talking to her, just little comments here or there since the first night. "I have to leave in the morning. It would make me feel a lot better if you wake up before then. I'll be back after school but as long as you're like this… I'd rather not leave you. Just a request. Consider it maybe."

At 10:00 that night, finally, finally Jess' eyelids fluttered.

Judy sat up in her chair, leaned closer, held Jess' hand tighter. It looked like a massive effort as Jess' eyes slid open, heavy and sluggish. For a second she stared blankly at the ceiling. She lightly squeezed Judy's hand, a shaky weak grasp but a grasp nonetheless, and closed her eyes for a second.

"Oh I feel like shit," she rasped weakly. "What happened, Judy? What the hell happened."

"The vaccine worked," Judy explained. She scooted her chair closer and leaned on the edge of the bed. "But the infection was the only thing keeping you alive."

Jess sighed deeply, her nose twitched, and she reached for the nasal cannula.

"Wait," Judy held her hand back. "Let me call a nurse, it's probably not ok to take that out-"

At Judy's call, the room flooded with doctors and nurses and Jess was swarmed. Judy stood against the wall while they worked, a low murmur of concerned questions and fervent instructions to each other. When they dispersed, Jess sat up, propped up by pillows and smiling mischievously at Judy. When the last doctor left the room she laughed a weak, hoarse laugh.

"That crowd was 80% medical students here to gawk, I bet," she said, and Judy smiled widely, returning to Jess' side. She patted the bed, and Judy climbed carefully up next to her. "Judy… darling…" Jess smiled fondly, reached out, brushed back the girl's hair. "You look like shit. Have you been sleeping?"

Judy laughed and leaned away playfully, pushing Jess' hand back.

"Not a wink," she said. "I've been too worried about you- and look at you, you've been on the brink of death for 20 years and you look as perfect as ever."

"Bet you didn't know a walking collection of malignant spores could look so good," Jess said with a wink and a weak laugh. "When's the last time you ate, sweetheart?"

"Stop it," Judy protested. "You almost died; let me worry about you." Jess smiled at her, looked down at their clasped hands.

"I felt that, you know," she said. A strange look crossed her face before settling back to neutral. "You held my hand almost the whole time I was out. I had the weirdest dreams."

Jess told her about one dream where she stood in the crater, surrounded by billowing empty nothingness. In the distance, barely visible on the desert horizon, Dylan and Christie were walking away, hand in hand, not looking back even once. In front of her, at the lip of the crater, a giant Mother Plant screeched horribly, shaking the ground and tearing down the sky bit by bit. At her side, Judy stood, holding her hand, her arm wrapped around Jess'. Some invisible barrier around them kept out the nothing, and when the Smilers came, they gathered around but couldn't come close, couldn't touch.

"I felt you holding my hand in every dream I had," Jess said. "I don't know how you do it.. I don't know how you always get through but… thank you."

"I didn't do it, Jess," Judy said. "They had you on sedatives and took you off of them yesterday morning."

"No, but…" Jess took a deep breath, squeezed Judy's hand. "It felt like I had to find my way back to my body, and this-" she held up their hands. "-this led me back. I don't know how to explain it. It was the first thing I felt, and it was like I had to get to it."

Their eyes met, and 1000 words passed between them, unspoken. Judy's heart swelled and soared in her chest, her mind racing. In that moment she could see infinite possibilities spread out before her, 1000 paths she and Jess could walk down together. She saw her life playing out in wide blue eyes and all she could do was watch helplessly, holding tight to Jess' hand.

She didn't know what to say and, even if she did, she wouldn't be able to- her voice had died in her chest and her throat tightened painfully as tears welled up in her eyes. It felt like everything was hitting at once- all the pressure, every expectation, every setback, every emotion Jess had pulled from her, all piled onto her shoulders and they drooped with the weight.

"I don't know if you heard… or if you remember… what I said before you went under…." Judy finally choked out. "But I meant it."

Jess watched her face thoughtfully, nodded in a careful, hesitant way.

"I remember," she said. "But I don't know what to say about it."

One by one, everything crashed around her. Every hope, in slow motion, hit the floor and splintered.

"I'm sorry," Judy said. "I thought you should hear it, just in case. Just so you would know, if anything happened, that I did it because-"

"I know," Jess smiled a sad, conflicted smile. "I appreciated it, and it helped more than you realize, but... I don't know."

"Listen… if you don't feel the same it's ok," Judy said. Her heart protested. "I can't make you feel anything for me, and I wouldn't want to. If it's not there it's not there."

Jess reached up, pushed back her hair, cupped her cheek, pulled away.

"I feel… something," she admitted. "But I just lost my husband and daughter. I almost died. Everything's so turbulent lately, and… And you're just starting your life, Judy. You have so much ahead of you. I don't know if I can trust anything I'm feeling right now. I don't want to pull you into my mess only to realize a little later I was just looking for anything to hold onto. Does that make sense, darling?"

Judy nodded, silent. She understood, and respected it, but disappointment settled heavy in her stomach.

"I just want you to be ok," Judy said softly, and it was true. "All I care about is you getting better. So get better."

"I'm trying, I think," Jess scoffed. She lay back on her pillows and took a shaky breath. "How do they feel about my chances?"

"You're going to be fine," Judy assured her. "Eventually. Don't expect to go home tomorrow or anything, but you're going to be fine. Eventually."

"Eventually," Jess sighed. "Better than never, I guess. At least I'll have you to keep me company."

"Ooh, um, ok listen…" Judy started. Jess rolled her eyes, groaned.

"Oh god, just have them put me back under," she whined, and Judy stifled a giggle.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Moms came to visit and all they brought was a stack of homework and threats to send a truancy officer, so… I guess I have to go tomorrow. But I'll be back after school, I promise. And then I can stay all weekend. And maybe miss a few days next week-"

"You're not missing any more school," Jess said sharply. "If you get thrown in jail, we're all dead. It's a lot harder to sneak out of there than your parents' house."

They talked for half an hour, and Jess slowly started drifting back to sleep. Judy, in a brief moment of panic, called a nurse. The nurse told her irritably that Jess would sleep a lot the first few days and not to worry.

"Get some sleep, love," Jess murmured from what seemed to be the depths of a very deep nap after the nurse left. "You have to be up early tomorrow."

Judy settled in her chair, laid her head on the mattress, took Jess' hand out of habit-

"What are you doing?" Jess asked, snapping out of her sleep. Judy hastily let go of her hand and apologized, but Jess shook her head. "No, I mean you don't have to sleep in the chair. Is that what you've been doing!? Get up here before your back blows out."

Sheepishly, gingerly, Judy climbed onto the bed and settled in. It was a lot smaller than the bed at Aunt Edie's. Side by side wasn't working, so she rolled onto her side, curled against Jess, and drifted off to sleep happily.

If Judy dreamed that night, she didn't remember it.

* * *

It was honestly a miracle Judy had avoided school as long as she had, and as she walked in the glass doors and the familiar stale smell of Strangerville Middle-High School hit her, her entire body tensed. She never felt welcome here. As she walked to her locker, a few of her classmates took notice and cast nervous glances at her. One or two rolled their eyes. One group in particular glared. She recognized them as friends of Christie.

She kept her head down as she passed them, quickening her step. Unfortunately, they followed. Her locker was just down the hall from where they stood, and as she put her bag away and got out the books she would need, they approached.

"Heard you're banging Christie's mom," one of the girls- Amanda- said bluntly. "Christie said it's your fault she had to move."

"That's not exactly true," Judy said flatly. She didn't look at them as she busied herself gathering her supplies. "I'm not banging her mom, and her dad moved them away because he couldn't handle his wife being sick."

"Christie said her mom snuck out all the time to see you," a boy at the back spoke up- Kyle. "She watched from the window. You guys would both just walk off into the desert. What the hell."

"You like… tore apart a family," another girl, Kimmy, said. "You can't just do that. Plus she's so old... "

"I didn't _just do that,_" Judy snapped, finally giving in and looking at them. "It's a lot more complicated than you guys realize, there's so much going on-"

"Oh you're one of those conspiracy people," Amanda said, looking as if she'd suddenly made sense of the universe. "Let me guess, you think this weird disease was caused by some secret lab outside of town?"

They laughed, and Judy sighed deeply, rolled her eyes.

"My dad says it's a disease from mosquitoes," Kyle said. "He's military. He would know if there was anything weird happening."

"If he's military, he's not going to tell you anything," Judy said. "It's classified."

"Ooooh, _classified_," Kimmy chuckled. "Right, so you're a crazy lesbian homewrecker who forced our best friend out of town. Got it."

And with three separate glares, they stalked away, leaving Judy in an irritable silence. _Don't engage_, she reminded herself. Her best bet was to keep her head down and ignore any attempts at interaction.

As her day went on, she got plenty of stares, heard plenty of whispers. She ignored them all and kept her focus on her work. The day dragged slowly on, and finally it was over. She practically ran home, dumped her school things out onto her bed and quickly packed overnight stuff into it.

"You're leaving already?" Tali asked from the doorway as she watched Judy pack.

"Yeah," Judy confirmed distractedly, looking around for her phone charger. "Sorry mom. Jess was in an actual medically induced coma for a few days there so… yeah. I'm gonna go be with her because her family won't, and someone probably should."

"I… guess so…" Tali said. She stood for a second, shuffled her feet, walked in and sat on Judy's bed. "You two have been pretty close lately. I heard Dylan and Christie moved out. Do you know anything about that?"

"He didn't want to deal with her being sick," Judy shrugged. "That's it. We've been working on a cure and he just got tired of it, I guess."

"So…" Tali continue uncomfortably. "You two aren't…."

"Why does everyone think that?" Judy asked with an awkward laugh. "No, mom. I just… finally made a friend. Maybe be happy for me."

"It's hard to, when I never see you anymore," Tali said, smiling sadly. "I know we've always kept you on a short leash, but I didn't think you'd run wild like this when you finally got off it."

"Did you think you could keep me inside forever?" Judy asked, sitting at her desk and turning to look at her mom. "You know I'm 18, right?"

"Yeah, you were away for your birthday," Tali said. "You didn't even call."

"Neither did you," Judy snapped back. "And to be honest, I'm not sure you even realize I'm a person, not a doll. I'm going to have my own life. I think you spent so much time and energy trying to protect me from Strangerville that you forgot to let me live a little too."

"I just worry so much," Tali pleaded. "Judy, honey, back when you had your own skin, I couldn't let you outside. You know how this town is about aliens. And the smilers-"

"And that's another thing," Judy continued, her emotions bubbling over. "You didn't even get to know this place before you sunk all your money into moving here! If you had just… looked it up first, you would have found out there was some kind of outbreak. If you had visited you would have seen how anti-alien the people here are. For god's sake there's actual 'no aliens' signs in the park. You guys didn't do any of that, you just plopped right on down with your new purple skinned alien baby. You didn't care enough to make sure it was a safe place for me."

"We were under so much stress," Tali said. "Paparazzi outside our windows every night trying to see you… Judy, I needed somewhere remote and isolated to protect you. This was the best place. It's not on most maps, and surrounded by mountains… It seemed like a good idea-"

"Well it wasn't," Judy said, exasperated. "Now I _really_ stepped in it and took on… so much more than I can handle. I feel _so heavy_ all the time because what I'm trying to do is life or death for everyone in this town, and you and mom won't do anything but nag at me to be normal."

"Judy-"

"None of this is _normal_!" Judy raised her voice. "Nothing about this place you threw me into is _normal_! Stop pretending we can be normal here!"

Tali sat, stunned.

"I'm sorry, Judy," she said finally. "Ignoring problems has always worked for me and your mom but I guess that's not in your nature."

"You can't ignore a town full of people in danger," Judy said softly. "Or maybe you can. I can't. And Jess… mom, did you know this disease is terminal? The people who have it will all eventually die. The infection is the only thing keeping their bodies alive, but draining them slowly at the same time. It keeps them alive while it slowly sucks out every last bit of life it can, and when it's done they'll just… drop. If the infection is removed, they'll drop. Grandpa's working on an improved vaccine that accounts for that."

"Is that what happened to Jess?" Tali asked.

"Yeah, the vaccine killed the infection but… it also almost killed her," Judy said. "And it's... " She paused to yawn. "I don't know, it's all just a lot."

"You're tired," Tali pointed out. "You should rest."

"I'll rest at the hospital," Judy said dismissively, standing up and going back to packing. "Grandpa's supposed to call later to talk about his progress and I think Jess should hear it too. I'll be there all weekend."

"Can I drive you?" Tali asked sheepishly. Judy froze, looked up. Her heart softened at the apprehensive smile on her mother's face. "And maybe… maybe I can bring some flowers for Jess and say hi? I have a few for sale but I can write one off."

"Sure, mom," Judy said. "That sounds nice."

So while she finished up the packing, her mom went out to the greenhouse and picked out a vase of daisies. The drive there was nice, comfortable. Tali put the windows down and the radio on, and the wind on Judy's face grounded her, kept her head from spinning the way it had been so often lately.

"Thank you for doing this," Judy said, clutching the flowers in her lap. "Now if we could just get mom to understand."

"I'll talk to her," Tali promised. "Poor thing didn't sign up for any of this. _Any_ of it. Judy… does Jess know?"

Judy cast an apprehensive sidelong glance at her mom.

"About what?"

"That you're half alien?" Tali prompted, and Judy chuckled.

"Oh," she said. "No. Why?"

"Mom didn't know about me until she got pregnant with you," Tali sighed. "She thought she had some explaining to do, but it turns out _I_ did."

"That's entirely different," Judy said. Uncomfortable. Staring intently out the window. Following the swooping and soaring of the power lines.

"Is it?" Tali pressed. "Judy… I'm sorry if I'm prying but it seems like you have some pretty strong feelings for Jess. I don't know exactly what's going on with you two but… if it's going to be anything serious, she needs to know."

"It's just me being an idiot," Judy said after a long moment of thought. "It's not going anywhere. We'll be friends until we drift apart, because that's what happens. Maybe she'll know, maybe she won't."

"All I'm saying is…." Tali sighed. "If things change… if it gets serious… tell her."

"I will," Judy promised. The rest of the drive was silent.

* * *

Tali and Jess' meeting went well. 18 years as neighbors and they met for the first time in a hospital room 40 minutes away from their homes. They were polite with each other. A little stiff but polite enough. Tali left after half an hour, leaving Judy to fuss over Jess, over whether she'd slept, ate, whether she needed water.

Orion called shortly after Jess fell asleep; the ringing phone startled her awake, and she sat up eagerly, ready to listen. Judy climbed into bed with her, cuddled to her side while Orion talked them through the newest batch of vaccines and poison. The new vaccines would not only kill the infection, but also support the host's body. They would need to be administered under a doctor's supervision- and Orion would be shipping the vaccines directly to the hospital. As for the poison, that was being shipped straight to Judy's house.

"Whoever does this will need to sever the roots," Orion said. "And then spray the cut roots with the poison. It's… extremely dangerous. Judy, have you seen a Mother Plant before?"

"I've seen the one in the lab," Judy admitted. "She's… big."

"She's a lot of woman," Orion confirmed. "If you can come in at a lower level it'll be safer that way. You need to avoid the face and arms if you can. You're immune to the infection so you don't need to worry about that, but she'll attack you physically as well. You're going to need help. Maybe someone to distract her while you destroy the roots."

"I can do that," Jess offered, and suddenly Judy was paralyzed with fear. With worry. Grief. She nestled closer to Jess.

"I'm going alone," she whispered. Orion and Jess both protested loudly.

"You will die," Orion said matter of factly. "If you have enough distractions, she'll get confused and be slowed down. If it's just you, she'll crush you. Or eat you. Or spit acid and dissolve you-"

"Got it," Judy said. "I'll bring distractions. Thank you grandpa."

"The next round of vaccines and the poison should be there by Tuesday," he said. "Good luck, Little Lion. I know you'll be great."

"I love you," she said. He chuckled.

"I love you too, Little Lion," he said. "I'm proud of you." They hung up and Judy practically wrapped herself around Jess.

"You're not coming," she said. "You're still sick."

"They said I'll be better soon," Jess protested. "Almost completely."

"_Almost_," Judy said, her voice muffled by Jess' shoulder. "Jess, you can't. Please, you can't."

"I sure the hell can," Jess laughed, wrapping her arm around Judy and squeezing her tight. "Who's gonna stop me? You, shrimp?"

"Fine, you could," Judy conceded with a worried laugh. "But Jess… please. You won't be back to full strength in time."

"I'm willing to risk my life for my town," Jess said simply, and Judy's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm not," she said, sitting up and looking Jess in the face. "I'm not willing to give you to that stupid fucking plant. Not after all this, all I did just trying to keep you safe. All I've thought about since this started was keeping you safe and I'm not going to lead you down there and feed you to her, Jess, I can't-" She broke down into tears, and Jess reached out, pulled her close.

"But I don't want to just… sit around at home knowing you're in danger," Jess protested. "I couldn't. I would go crazy. I need to be there with you, helping as much as I can. Little sleuth…" Judy laughed tearfully. It seemed like forever since she'd heard that. "Little sleuth, as much as you want to keep me safe… I need you to be safe. I need to help you."

"Fine, but…" she sniffled, and Jess wiped away a tear that broke loose and trailed down her cheek. "But I want you to stay back. Grandpa said he's sending 4 backpack sprayers. You stay around the very outer perimeter, near cover."

"I will," Jess said resolutely. "I promise I will."

"Thank you," Judy said weakly. She laid back down, arm over Jess' waist, head on her shoulder, and Jess wrapped one arm around her, rubbed her shoulder lightly. It was the safest she'd ever felt, and in that moment it didn't matter whether this was friendly, or more. She was warm, safe, comfortable, sleepy. Her eyes slid shut and she fell into a deep, fretful sleep full of dreams of the Mother Plant and Jess. The Mother Plant sat in the middle of a destroyed Strangerville, 1000 times larger than her actual size. Jess stood in front of her, uselessly throwing handfuls of poison at the giant plant, which, with one tendril, lazily snuffed out Judy's entire world in a second. And as Judy dropped to her knees, the nothing overtook her, and the ground split open and swallowed her whole.


	6. Chapter 6

The weekend went too fast. School on Monday went too slow. It was torture, and every second Judy spent waiting for the backpacks to arrive felt like time wasted. She stared at the hands on the clock, knowing that would make it worse but seemingly unable to do anything else. In her pocket, her phone buzzed and with a quick glance around, she checked it under her desk. It was a picture from Jess.

Judy's coolala sat propped up against the window frame, apparently staring wistfully out at freedom. Judy smiled.

"Going a little stir crazy?" Judy texted.

"Get me out of here," Jess replied.

"I'll talk to the nurses tonight about going for a walk," Judy said. Jess sent back a smile.

"Judy, is there a problem?" her teacher snapped suddenly. She hastily shoved her phone back in her pocket and looked up.

"No ma'am," she said. "I needed my pencil." She pulled out the pencil she always kept in her pocket with her phone for situations just like this. The teacher narrowed her eyes suspiciously but went back to grading papers all the same.

Judy stifled a groan and looked down at the paper in front of her. It was done 20 minutes ago, checked over 3 times. Easy stuff. Resigned, she decided to check her work again, but her mind wandered.

Jess was up and walking. Mostly just to the bathroom across the room and back, but Judy was beyond excited regardless. Every time Jess would stand up it was like 1000 weights off Judy's shoulders. Sometimes after dinner the nurses would let Judy push her around the courtyard in a wheelchair. It was a sanitized, boring version of the walks they used to take but it was better than the alternative- cooped up in a hospital bed.

They were even starting to talk about a release date. Everything was going so well, but even so, Judy had a constant faint sense of dread knowing Jess would want to help her kill the Mother Plant. She didn't want her to. She wanted Jess as far away from the Plant as possible but she was so, so stubborn. She would just have to let Jess come along and do her best to make sure she was okay.

When the day finally ended, she called Orion on the walk home.

"You'll need a game plan," he said eagerly. "You need help. A team. I'd be honored to be a part of it."

"Of course, grandpa," she said. "Jess wants to help too, and what about George? You guys met at the hospital, right?"

"We've been in contact," Orion said. "I'll talk to him. I'm sure he'd be happy to come along. Anyone else?"

"Allie might want to help," Judy mused. The girl running the souvenir store outside of the trailer park had actually helped supply parts for the ventilator, and clearly knew Judy was up to something. Judy wouldn't be surprised to find out she already knew everything. "And Kristopher. He's a scientist. We've talked at the library. He's interested in solving this too but I've always been a few steps ahead. Not to toot my own horn but, toot. Heh. Anyway, is that enough?"

"It should be," Orion said thoughtfully. "We'll need some more backpacks. I've already shipped 4, but I'm working on more. I'll just bring those with me."

She arrived home to find her parents sitting at the table, looking serious.

"What's wrong?" she asked, immediately sensing something off.

"You remember Mrs. Brahn, around the block?" Maki said, and Judy nodded. "She passed away this morning. Probably from this infection. They found her with vines growing out of her body."

"Did you hear that, grandpa?" she asked, hastily putting him on speakerphone.

"I heard," he confirmed. "We need to hurry. When is Jess getting out?"

"I don't know," Judy sighed. "Mom's taking me to see her soon."

"Tali?" he called, and Tali smiled sadly.

"Hi, dad," she called back. "Thank you for keeping an eye on Judy."

"She's a little spitfire!" he said faintly. "She keeps me busier than you three ever did!"

They all laughed, but there was a definite tension in the air as Judy got ready. She didn't pack much, as it was just overnight; phone charger, pajamas, homework. She thought sadly of Mrs. Brahn.

She was a kind, older woman who Judy often ran into at the souvenir store. She too had a keen interest in the infection, wanting to understand the invader in her body. Judy would see her at the library, poring over books, chatting with scientists, and every night when the Smilers would parade by, she would be among them.

With her death came a new urgency; terminal wasn't just a suggestion anymore, some far off threat that Judy hoped to avoid. It was real, and here. The rest were sure to follow soon.

"This has to happen soon, grandpa," Judy said. "Anyone could be next."

Some hidden selfish part of her breathed a sigh of relief that it wouldn't be Jess.

* * *

That evening in the hospital courtyard, Judy distractedly walked around with Jess, past flowers and fountains. There weren't many other patients out there, just one or two across the yard. Jess' steps were shaky, but holding on to Judy's arm, she was almost back up to speed.

"You seem distracted tonight," Jess commented. "What did I miss? I hate being so far away."

"I know you wanted to help, but I can't wait for you," Judy said somewhat abruptly, and Jess groaned.

"Not this again," she said. "Judy…"

"Mrs. Brahn passed away," Judy interrupted. "You remember her, right? She worked at the laundromat? The infected are starting to die. It can't wait. As soon as grandpa gets here with the rest of the poison, I'm going."

Jess was silent, looking at the dusty ground and apparently lost in thought.

"Just promise you'll be careful," Jess said finally. "Call me as soon as it's done so I know you're ok."

"Of course," Judy promised. "You'll be the first to know."

They returned to the room after a few more laps around, and Judy texted Allie and Kristopher, letting them know the poison would be arriving the next day. Everything felt suspended, like the whole desert was holding its breath, waiting for the storm. Time seemed to Judy to be frozen, and the only thing in motion was her stomach twisting nervously. Jess noticed, reached out to her, stroked her hair.

"Everything will be ok, Judy," she promised. "Everything's going to be alright darling."

Judy climbed into bed, curled up in Jess' arms. They laid together, afraid and hopeful and drifting off to sleep together.

* * *

As wrong as it felt, Judy went to school the next morning. The day trudged along painfully slow, and when Orion texted her to let her know he was there, at Old Penelope, her soul practically jumped out of its skin and flew to him. Time still seemed to be stopped, as if the whole world was waiting to see what she would do, or if she would survive. Time marched on, her classmates chattered idly about things that hardly mattered, but to Judy it all seemed frozen. Pointless. Useless. Adrenaline coursed through her, nerves and doubts.

When school let out, she rushed straight to Old Penelope where Kristopher and Allie waited outside.

"Thank you guys for helping," she said as she approached.

"Happy to be here," Allie said. "Did you hear about Rich Kline? Dead. Just like Elaine."

"It's so strange how they're just now starting to die," Kristopher commented as Judy unlocked the door. "Right as we're ready to attack."

Judy remembered how the plant had shocked Jess on the train back into town, and wondered how far the plant's abilities reached. Could it kill the infected at will? If so, the whole town could be in danger as Judy and her friends closed in.

Downstairs, George and Orion huddled together over the backpacks, making last minute adjustments. They looked up as the three entered and nodded grimly in greeting.

"Almost ready," Orion said. "First things first, you two need to be vaccinated. According to Judy, some areas of the lab are thick with spores, and I'm sure She'll be spitting some at us."

He vaccinated Allie and Kristopher quickly and expertly, then returned to looking over the equipment with George.

Judy and the others stood uncomfortably together, waiting. The tension in the room was palpable, and Judy felt her chest closing in, her stomach trying to force its way up. She shut her eyes, and for just a second thought about backing out. Since this had started she'd thrown herself into it, with no regard for her own health or safety but now… with the memory of Jess' hand in hers, strong arms around her, sharp blue eyes looking into hers… she was suddenly so afraid of losing it all. She wanted to leave the bunker, run to Jess. Her heart thudded against her ribs and she took deep steadying breaths, opened her eyes, looked around at the people surrounding her. She borrowed strength from their confidence, soothed herself, thought of Jess. All Jess had suffered, all she'd lost, all she'd almost lost and her resolve was back. Anger flared, determination.

Judy was ready, and so were George and Orion.

"We'll meet you guys there," George said, nodding to Orion. "We'll carry the packs."

So as George and Orion flew off across the desert, Judy, Kristopher, and Allie started the grueling walk. It wasn't as hot as it was all summer, but it was still uncomfortably warm and dry. They walked in silence, throats dry and faces damp with sweat, all nervous but none willing to admit it. When the crater came into view, Allie gasped and Kristopher let out a heavy sigh.

"It's bigger than I thought," Allie said in awe.

"It's just as imposing as I remember," Kristopher shot back. "Never thought I'd be back to this place."

"Watch out for the little plants," Judy said. "Look, they grew."

The strange plants, formerly small and harmless, were now larger, with tendrils of their own. They squirmed, evidently feeling for prey. Above, the cloud turned and tumbled, thunder rumbled endlessly. As they passed through the tunnel, the wind picked up, tossing dust and rocks, pushing their bodies around violently, and they ran for shelter inside the lab.

It was so chaotic, Judy almost didn't notice Jess' car parked haphazardly nearby. She skidded to a stop, shielding her eyes against the swirling dust while Kristopher and Allie yelled at her from the door to hurry.

She tried telling them it was Jess' car but the wind grabbed her words as they left her mouth, tossed them away, replaced them with sand. She struggled to the car and looked in the window; empty. Hopefully she was already inside.

She was. Standing with George and Orion, talking quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Judy asked, walking over to the two guilty looking ghosts and one defiant woman. "You're still supposed to be in the hospital."

"They released me this morning, right after you left," Jess said. "I guess I'm supposed to be 'taking it easy' but I don't have time for that."

"You're still recovering," Judy protested. "Jess…. You can't."

"Listen... The more I walk, the stronger I feel," she said, leaping to her feet to prove it. "See? I've been drinking water and I had a good breakfast, and lunch. I've been walking laps back and forth, I even did some exercises. I'm better. I can do this."

"I don't want you to," Judy protested quietly. Jess took her hands.

"I have to," she said. "You're not going down there without me, Little Sleuth. You're too important. And I lost so much to this plant. I need to do this."

"She can come underground with us," Orion suggested. "George and I are going to attack the roots while the rest of you get the tendrils and keep it busy. She'll be much safer down there. Jess, is that ok?"

"It's better than nothing," Jess huffed with an irritated glance at Judy, who looked on helplessly. Now wasn't the time to discuss it; it was finally time to act.

They all strapped on their backpacks and headed for the security door. Jess, George and Orion carried machetes, while Judy, Kristopher, and Allie carried only the nozzles attached to the backpacks.

As they descended, it occured to Judy that she hadn't seen Maki in days. They butted heads far more often than she and Tali, but she still very distinctly remembered the day she had changed her skin.

* * *

She'd sat in her room in front of her mirror, 4 years old and excited to start school, but confused. Maki pushed open her door and smiled sadly at her.

"Not done yet, Judy?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Why do I have to change it?" Judy asked, sniffling and patting her cheeks with her hands. "It looks like mommy's flowers. I like it."

"I know, kid, but…" Maki sighed in frustration and sat on the bed. "There are people in this town who won't like it."

"Who doesn't like purple?" Judy scoffed, turning around and looking up at Maki, pouting. "What's wrong with them?"

"It's not purple that they don't like," Maki corrected. "Some people…. Are afraid of what they don't understand. They don't like what's not familiar. They're wrong, and if they would get to know you and mommy they would see how wrong they are. But in this town, it's very dangerous to let them know. That's why mommy keeps her human skin on."

"Why can't we go somewhere else?" Judy pleaded. "Let's go somewhere where they'll like my purple skin!"

"We… can't afford to, Judy," Maki said regretfully. "We don't have enough money."

"That's not fair," Judy pouted, and Maki slid onto the floor next to her.

"Sometimes, life isn't fair," she said. "And we don't always get to choose what happens to us. Sometimes, we have to make hard choices to keep ourselves safe. Hey, this doesn't have to be a sad thing, kid. This could be fun. What do you want to look like?"

"I can pick any color?"

"Any color you want."

In the moment, Judy focused hard on her mom's skin. She looked like her already, so it made the most sense. She was careful to keep her freckles. Maki watched the transformation in awe, and seemed touched Judy chose to emulate her skin.

"Lovely," Maki confirmed when Judy spun around to show her. "And you know what? I think the inside is still the same! Do you feel the same? You're still Judy?"

"Yeah!" Judy confirmed excitedly, looking at herself in the mirror and giggling. "Look, I still have my freckles and my hair! And my face looks the same! And I have the same brain! It's still me!"

"We wouldn't change you for the world, Judy," Maki said softly as she kissed Judy on the top of the head.


	7. Chapter 7

She and Maki had clashed a lot in the last 4 years but Judy still felt the pull of regret as she continued down the stairs of the lab. There was no time to go back, and her phone was dead. She could only hope she would make it back out of the lab when this was all over.

When they reached the antechamber of the Plant's lair, they stopped and grouped together.

"This is where she is," Judy said. "This is where we split up. Allie… you and Kristopher come in with me, and hit the plant with the sprayers. Watch the tentacles, watch the spit."

"I've been training," Allie said excitedly. "Found an old army training bot. I'm gonna kick botanical ass."

"And I'll try my best," Kristopher chimed in brightly.

"Grandpa… you and George and Jess wait a minute for us to distract her," Judy continued. "Then go through that door, right over there. That goes downstairs where the roots are. She can still hit you down there so you'll have to be careful but hopefully, if you're quiet, you can get most of the roots before she even knows you're there."

For a moment they all stood together, looking around at the group nervously. Judy and Jess caught each other's eyes and shared a long look, full of meaning with not a single word passing between them.

"Is everyone ready?" Jess asked, finally breaking contact and looking around at the group. "Any questions for our fearless leader?" A playful wink in Judy's direction.

No one spoke up. Everyone was casting nervous glances at the nearby doors, overgrown with vines and thick with spores. From within, the electrical thrum that had been in Judy's brain since this all began, pulsated and drilled into her eardrums. Her head throbbed along with it, and she watched everyone shuffle nervously, psyching themselves up. Her eyes lingered on Jess, who stretched, rolled her shoulders, winced.

She glanced towards George and Orion; Orion met her eyes, nodded reassuringly, seeming to understand. _Keep her safe._

As they split up, Judy reached out, squeezed Jess' hand one last time and tried to smile; it probably looked more like a grimace, but Jess got the idea and returned it gratefully.

"Is anyone else sweating?" Kristopher asked quietly as they made their way down the hallway to the door. Stepping over vines, through clouds of spores. "Is it just me?"

"I'm shitting right now," Allie assured him. "It's gonna be ok. I've been practicing, remember? I'm practically a professional. I'll kill the thing on my own."

"Don't do anything stupid," Judy pleaded, holding her security card out to the scanner. "Remember, be loud, stay out of her way, eyes open and scanning at all times."

The door hissed open; Judy's stomach churned violently as the Mother Plant came into view. She sat in the middle of her platform, larger than life and screeching at the intrusion.

"Jesus," Allie muttered. "That's… nasty."

Judy stood frozen in the doorway; every nightmare she'd had, every fear, every night of lost sleep flashed through her brain on a loop, and the nerves fell away. Anger took its place, and she stepped past the other two.

"Let's make some noise," she said, then let out a piercing shriek. The Mother Plant drew herself up to full height and screeched back, and Judy ran in yelling, spraying the Mother Plant with poison. Behind her, she heard Allie and Kristopher do the same. The Mother Plant seemed to hesitate for just a second, evidently sizing them up as they ran around the platform, screaming like lunatics. If it was possible for a sentient alien plant to judge, she was at that moment judging them ruthlessly.

All that mattered was that they kept her busy, and it seemed to work; after a minute of their theatrics, she screeched in pain and writhed; looking down through the grated platform Judy could see the other three swiftly and silently hacking at her roots, dousing them with poison.

Above, the Mother Plant lashed out, one tendril flailing in Judy's direction and narrowly missing her. Another tendril caught Kristopher right in the stomach and tossed him a short distance. Allie called out and ran to him, leaving Judy alone on the platform to stare down the increasingly furious plant, wounded and defensive.

"It's jammed!" Orion called from below, fiddling with his backpack. Jess, noticing Judy's predicament called out to her and tossed her machete through the narrow opening between the plant and the upper level. She then ran off to follow Orion and douse the roots that he slashed.

Judy scrambled for the weapon, picked it up just in time to deflect a blow from a tendril. The Plant roared in pain and anger; she looked around for Kristopher, who was awake and aware but obviously shaken as Allie kneeled over him, talking to him. A single tendril snaked its way toward them.

"FUCK ME UP, YOU BIG STUPID PLANT!" Judy yelled, slashing at the tendril headed for her friends. All her anger, all her frustration and fear went into the strike, and it landed beautifully. The tip of the tendril was severed; a thick blue liquid seeped from it and the Plant cried out in anguish. For a moment, Judy felt… something. Pity? Sympathy? Did the plant really know what it was doing, or was it just following instinct? Did it matter?

And then it went for Jess.

The flailing tendril barely clipped her, and only sent her stumbling, and George severed the offending tendril before it could land another hit, but it was enough; Judy was back in, full force. Hacking at whatever she could reach and spraying poison at every wound she could spot on the thing. It seemed to be losing strength, the screeches coming less frequently. The tendrils flailing with less force.

"The trunk, Judy!" Orion yelled from below. "Can you get close enough to attack the main body?"

The tendrils were sluggish and weak now, and the Mother Plant's mouth seemed to be hanging limp, dripping the same blue liquid seeping from her wounds.

"Go ahead, we've got you," George called from behind; he and Orion stood behind her, machetes at the ready.

"I'm pumping it full of poison," Jess called from below. "I'm ok, Judy. Do what you have to do."

So, with a deep breath, Judy ran, leapt, sunk her machete into the creature's body. It barely groaned as Judy wrenched the weapon out, sprayed the wound with poison.

That seemed to be it; the plant twitched and squirmed weakly, slowly collapsing in on itself. Judy haphazardly fell off of it, onto her back on the platform and watched as it seemingly withered in front of them.

Everyone stood still watching in horror, in relief, in pity.

"Is it dead?" Kristopher asked, struggling forward supported by Allie.

"I think so," Orion said thoughtfully, moving in cautiously to examine it. "I'd be damn surprised if she wasn't… Shame."

"Jess, are you ok?" Judy called, eyes scanning the lower level. She was nowhere to be seen; a moment later the doors slid open and she strode in, smiling widely.

"I knew you would do it, Little Sleuth," she said, pulling Judy to her feet and into a crushing hug.

"Oh god," Judy groaned, hugging back weakly. "Your strength is back. You're definitely better."

"She's dead," Orion announced finally, stepping back from where he'd been examining the plant. "Excellent job, everyone. First thing in the morning, vaccines. I'm going to need some help spreading the word on that… Allie? Care to assist?"

"Of course, sir," she agreed. "Someone's gotta get this one home though." She jerked a thumb at Kristopher, who stood against the railing, holding his stomach. "Or maybe to the hospital? You maybe should get checked out, Kris."

"I'll take him," George offered.

"Do ghosts drive?" Kristopher asked weakly, and George chuckled.

"Even better," he said and, offering his shoulder as support, led Kristopher out of the chamber.

"You two…." Orion turned to Jess and Judy. "Rest. You two have been through it. You've done enough. You deserve a night off."

* * *

The trip back to town in Jess' car was the best Judy had felt in months. For the first time, she felt sure everything would be ok. Jess was next to her, the stars were fully visible with no hazy green filter over them. It was almost over.

"I don't know about you but I don't feel like going home," Jess said, glancing over at Judy and smiling.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked. It was almost 8:00 and the sun had long since dipped below the horizon.

"Maybe a road trip," she suggested. "A short one. There's a diner a few towns over that serves breakfast all night. Interested?"

"Of course," Judy agreed. "I feel like I haven't had real food since… I don't know."

* * *

It was 9:00 when they pulled off the highway into the dingy little diner's parking lot, stereo blaring, eyes teary from laughing so hard. It was the kind of laughter that could only come with the happy delerium of years worth of stress suddenly being lifted, and as they walked up to the diner, they couldn't suppress aftershock giggles.

As Jess held the door open and dramatically gestured for Judy to go first, Judy couldn't help but think this was the happiest she'd ever been. They requested an outside table; it was cool out, not too dry as they were further north and a pleasant breeze drifted through the patio. They sat close together, sharing warmth, huddled in the glow of the heat lamp nearby. A waiter came out shortly to take their order, then went back inside, leaving them alone.

"This is the kind of road trip I always wanted back when…" Jess paused, shook her head, laughed. "You know."

"We can do this anytime you want," Judy promised, linking her arm through Jess' as they waited for their waffles. At the moment she was willing to do anything, promise anything. "We can visit every diner in the world."

Jess laughed and, seemingly on a whim, leaned down and kissed Judy's forehead lightly.

"I…" she hesitated, her smile faltered. "Maybe, Little Sleuth. That sounds lovely. You have to finish school, though."

"After that, maybe," Judy said with a shrug. Her whole body was buzzing, her mind spinning in the best way. "I just like being around you."

"I do too," Jess replied after just a moment of thought. "I really do." Judy smiled, yawned, rested her head on Jess' shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I don't want to go tomorrow," Judy sighed. "Do you think they'll cancel it due to… I don't know. It really feels like everything should stop for a while, doesn't it?"

"It kind of feels like it has," Jess countered, resting her head lightly on Judy's. It was true; this far into the desert, everything was still and silent. Even the breeze seemed to tread lightly so as not to disturb the only two diners outside. After so much noise and confusion and chaos and celebrating… the silence was welcome. They watched the stars, and Judy quietly pointed out the constellations she remembered Orion showing her. She held Jess' hand and traced them for her; Orion's belt, and the Little Lion.

"I don't know how people do that," Jess breathed appreciatively. "I just see a bunch of chaos. None of it looks like anything… and I wouldn't even know where to start finding the shape of… myself?"

Judy watched her apprehensively; grandpa always said people's view of the stars was a good look into their state of mind.

"That's ok," Judy assured her. "It takes practice. I couldn't see them at first either, but the longer you look, the more you'll see."

For a while they sat together silently, leaning against each other and watching the sky. Their food came and they barely touched it, talking quietly and musing about what would happen to Strangerville now that the infection was nearly eradicated. They talked about where Christie and Dylan might have gone. They talked about whether Christie would return Jess' call from earlier that evening.

In the end, they left around 10:00 with to-go bags full of waffles, and the ride back to town was much quieter than the ride out. Jess pulled into her driveway about 11, and Judy walked around to the driver's side to say goodnight.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow?" she asked, tucking her hands into her pockets and hoping she didn't sound desperate. "I mean, after school maybe. If you want."

"Of course," Jess laughed, reaching out and pulling Judy into a hug. "We can look at the stars some more. Or watch a movie. Something normal for once."

Judy laughed into her shoulder, held on tighter.

"Goodnight, Little Sleuth," Jess said softly as they pulled apart. "I don't know if I've thanked you yet for saving my life, and everyone else's but… thank you." Judy shrugged shyly, cheeks suddenly warm.

"I would do it again," she said firmly.

* * *

The year went on almost normally. The vaccines were distributed in waves; the potentially terminal first, at the hospital. For everyone else they set up vaccine stations throughout town. At the library, at the park, near the trailer park, in the rec center a few blocks over, and of course in the country club in Shady Acres. Gradually, the number of Smilers outside Judy's window at night dwindled. She reported to the hospital staff who was still marching at night, and the following night there would be less.

To the adults in town, she was a hero. She couldn't go anywhere without getting at least a smile and wave; more often she was stopped and asked questions about the ordeal. She received gifts almost every day, mostly food and candy, and the occasional toy from a well meaning old person who thought she was much younger than she was.

Her classmates, on the other hand, couldn't handle the unusual nature of the whole situation and knitted themselves closer together, leaving Judy on the outside. She didn't mind; they left her alone and that suited her just fine. Only Amanda and Kimmy gave her any trouble. Kyle stood uncomfortably alongside them and watched as they tried to goad Judy into a response. Judy rolled her eyes, busied herself with her locker until they lost interest and wandered away. Kyle stayed, shuffling uncomfortably.

"Hey, uh…" he started. "Whatever you did… my dad has been uh, more normal, I guess. He used to disappear at night. My mom thought he was fucking around but he's been home since you did whatever you did in the crater." Judy turned to face him, hesitant. He seemed nervous.

"That's great, Kyle," she said with a smile.

"I guess he was sick?" Kyle continued with a glance down the hall at his friends. "He's getting better and I know you had something to do with it, so… thanks."

She watched with a smile as he turned and ran after his friends, rejoining them and laughing as they headed to their next class. Judy, feeling just a bit better, shut her locker and headed the opposite direction.

As she passed the counselor's office, Mrs. Glenn popped her head out and waved her over.

"Judy, I've been meaning to talk to you," she said. Dread settled in.

"Oh no," she groaned. "I've been trying, Mrs. Glenn. I had my grades up, what happened?"

"No, nothing like that," she chuckled. "Come on in. I'll let your next class know you're with me."

Judy sat, and for a minute Mrs. Glenn disappeared into the back office. When she returned, she held a thick yellow folder and sat across from Judy.

"I've been looking over your file," she said. "For how much school you missed, your grades never dropped."

"I tried so hard to keep up," Judy said breathlessly, books held tight to her stomach. "I know school is important, but… I had other important things to do."

"I'm aware," Mrs. Glenn agreed. "The quality of the work you turned in… Judy, you went above and beyond the requirements of every assignment. You have all your credits. If you're interested, you _do_ qualify for early graduation. Is that something you'd like to do?"

"_Yeah_," Judy said emphatically, cleared her throat, calmed herself. "I mean yes, please. That would be… yes."

"Great," Mrs. Glenn smiled, writing something down. "I'll get that in motion and let you know what's up. And I can't recommend enough that you take a look at some of the scholarships and opportunities we have posted. The board in the lobby? It looks like you'd qualify for just about anything on there."

"What kind of things are there?" Judy asked, interest piqued.

"Well, scholarships for one," Mrs. Glenn said, leaning back in her chair and eyeing the ceiling. "Then there's the gap year trips. I believe this year it's conservationist work in Sulani or archaeology in Selvadorada. Everything's paid but you would essentially be going on your own, and one guest if you want."

"That sounds interesting," Judy said, paying rapt attention. "The trip. I'd like to see Selvadorada. My grandpa had some old Omiscan artifacts at his house. He's been there a few times."

"Should I mark you down as interested?" Mrs. Glenn asked with a chuckle, pen poised. Judy nodded, and she scribbled another note in the file. "Don't forget to take a look at the scholarships too, Judy. You're a formidable force already; now imagine if you were college educated!"

"Thanks, Mrs. Glenn," Judy said. "Was there anything else?"

"No that's all," she said. Judy thanked her, stood, headed for the door. "And I'm serious; look at the scholarships. At least look at them."

"I will," Judy said over her shoulder. "I promise."

On her way to her next class, she passed the bulletin board without a glance.

* * *

She was finished with school by the end of the week. She'd been selected for the trip to Selvadorada, no contest, and although she was excited, something was nagging at her.

"Do you think Jess would come with me?" she asked Tali one afternoon, a week out from graduation. They'd been in the greenhouse together all morning, Tali expertly putting together arrangements while Judy tended to the growing plants. At the moment they were taking a lunch break, sitting together on a bench with sandwiches and juice.

"That would be pretty short notice, wouldn't it?" Tali mused, eyebrows raised. "That's a lot to get in order before tomorrow morning."

"Yeah," Judy sighed. "I've been going back and forth on it. She doesn't even know yet."

Tali set her sandwich down, turned to her daughter, sighed deeply.

"Ok, you haven't been sneaking out to see her lately," Tali deadpanned. "I haven't heard your phone ding in the dead of night in days. Now you haven't even told her you're going to be gone for a year? What's going on?"

"I don't know," Judy admitted. She could see the Sigworth's house from where she sat; her heart called for the woman inside. "I've been trying to text her but I don't get much back. I don't know what's wrong."

"Maybe you should go check on her in person," Tali suggested. "She's been through so much. I'm sure she'd appreciate the thought."

"Yeah, I guess," Judy agreed reluctantly. "I guess I'll head over after you're done with me."

"I'll let you go early today, darling," Tali said with a wink. "Go see if you can patch things up."

So Judy showered then crossed the dusty, cracked asphalt she knew so well from so many years of doing so. The Sigworth's house stood dark and silent, shut tight. Curtains drawn close over every window. Judy thought to herself as she climbed the front steps, that she wouldn't be surprised at all if no one came to the door.

But she knocked anyway, and waited. Half expecting to stand in silence for a while before giving up and going home. Surprisingly, the curtains in the window next to the door pulled back and Jess peered out before disappearing back into the darkness.

Judy half expected that to be that.

But the door opened and Jess stood in the doorway in a t shirt and sweatpants. As always, her hair was pulled back into a tight bun.

"Hi," Judy said, shrinking under the expectant gaze of sharp blue eyes. "I just wanted to make sure you're ok."

"I'm alright," Jess confirmed. "Still kicking. Just kicking around. How are you?"

It was all so stiff and wrong; Judy almost would have preferred silence.

"I'm fine," she said with a shrug, leaning against the railing. "Actually, I came to check on you and to let you know I'm going away for a while."

For just a second something flashed across Jess' eyes, some unplaceable emotion. Fleeting, but frantic and when it passed her eyes were harder than before.

"Really?" she asked. "Where?"

So Judy told her about the trip. She told her about graduating early and being selected out of all 147 students in her state who had applied for the trip. And then she told Jess it was tomorrow.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Jess protested. "We could have spent some time together before you left."

"I mean…." something indignant flared in Judy's chest. "It's not like I haven't been trying to have conversations with you for _weeks_. I might have mentioned it during one of those conversations, but they never happened. So…"

"Judy…" Jess sighed, stepping onto the porch, shutting the door behind her. She leaned back on the railing next to Judy and groaned lightly. "I've been so lost since the night at the lab. It's so… quiet inside my mind now, without her in there. I could sleep through the night now, but I keep waking myself up thinking it's happening. Dylan's not here, Christie isn't here, I'm not even sure I can get my job back… everything in my life has fallen out from under me and the only solid, real thing left is you, and that… scares me."

The desert was silent; not even a breeze dared to whisper for fear of intruding.

"Will you come with me?" Judy asked. "You've always wanted to see the world. Come with me. I have two tickets."

Jess looked around, torn. She frowned, pulled her arms around herself, kicked the stoop lightly.

"I can't," she said finally. "Judy, you're the only solid, real thing left in my life and that wouldn't be a very healthy start to… anything. Whatever this is, or would be. My whole life has been about pleasing my parents, then Dylan, and Christie, then that stupid plant…. I need to figure out what _I_ need. Does that make sense, little sleuth?"

Judy's eyes filled with tears as she nodded.

"Well…" Judy took a deep, shaky breath. "I guess I'm just here to say goodbye then."

"I'm sorry," Jess breathed, blinking away tears. "I wish it could be different."

"Well, it's not…" Judy said with a sad smile and a shrug. "And that's ok. I only want you to be happy, Jess, and if time alone is what you need to get there, I want you to have it."

"But what about you?" Jess asked. "I want you to be happy too."

"Hey, I'll be fine," Judy assured her. "I'll go hang out in the jungle for a while, find some old shit, meet some new people, and there's like 50 different ways I could die… It'll be a great time. And in a year, I'll come back and we'll see where we're at. Maybe. Maybe?"

Jess smiled, looked out across the town square, nodded.

"So much could happen in a year," she teased. "You could meet a beautiful Selvadoran woman and forget all about me." They laughed together for a second.

"I doubt it," Judy winked, pushing off the railing. Jess followed her lead, and they stood together on the stoop. The sun was just starting to set; everything was burning gold, bright and magical. For just a second, Judy hovered on the edge of leaving, but Jess' eyes held her there and she couldn't seem to pull away.

She stepped closer; Jess did the same. For one heart stopping second she thought Jess would kiss her, but instead she pulled her into a hug, squeezing tight and sighing into her hair.

"Have a good time, little sleuth," Jess said softly, and they pulled apart, lingering in each other's space. "Go find new things. Make it count."

"Strange new vistas, new view of the stars, all that mess," she said softly as she walked away down the stairs and started across the street. "I'll be back this time next year."

5 years later, Judy's came home.


	8. Chapter 8

Her first year in Selvadorada flew by. The first half she spent in the wild, learning from her guide and making plenty of mistakes. The second half, she mostly spent in town recovering. The small cottage the school had paid for slowly became hers, filling with the artifacts she'd found, the pictures taken with new friends, the flower chains the local kids made for her.

She settled in and carved a place for herself in the village, made a life for herself. George and Orion came to visit often, to check up on her and bring her gifts from her moms.

She asked about Jess once or twice, but neither of them had heard from her. After the first three visits, she stopped asking.

When the year was up, she simply stayed where she was. It was easy to do, easy to lose track of time and forget when there was so much to do. So many ruins to find, so many trees to climb. By the end of her third year, she wandered the jungle alone without fear, relentlessly searching for any and every remnant of a lost civilization she could find. And when she wasn't getting lost in the trees, she was at her cottage, taking care of her garden. She even took in one of the stray puppies near the village. She named him Oscar and he grew up beside her, explored with her, loyal and smart and always up for adventure.

During her 5th year, when Orion and George made their biannual visit, Tali and Maki's letters mentioned Jess.

"Have you guys heard from her?" Judy asked, skimming the letters, concerned.

"No, not in years," Orion said. "She still takes care of the house. It's not overrun or anything, but she doesn't speak to anyone."

Tali's letter said much of the same; she read it out loud to the ghosts in front of her.

"'I saw Jess at the store yesterday. She looks so sad and lost... I'm a little worried,'" Judy read. "'I know you don't get cell reception out there, but the rest of the town seems to have forgotten her. It would be nice for her to know not everyone has.'"

"How long does it take you guys to get back there?" Judy asked, setting down the letter with a shaky hand. George and Orion shared a look, shrugged, shuffled.

"Hour?" George asked.

"Hour," Orion confirmed with another shrug. "Hour and a half."

"No time," George nodded.

"None flat," Orion confirmed. Judy had to smile at the friendship that had blossomed between them. They'd never met in life, but in death they were inseparable.

"Great," she said with a chuckle. "Wait around a little. I'm sending stuff back for Jess."

She went to her garden and gathered up the brightest, prettiest flowers she could. Blue and white with bright yellow specks, and a few stalks of foliage.

When it came time to write a letter, she came up blank. She sat, pen poised over paper, hesitating.

In the end she broke and decided against a letter.

"Just tell her I've been finding new constellations," she said to Orion, handing the flowers off to him. "And I hope she's found some too."

The next day, she regretted not writing something herself. A month later, she decided to move back to Strangerville. A month after that, Judy came home.

* * *

When she pushed open her front door for the first time in 5 years, she didn't have time to reflect on the gravity of the emotions that came with it. Confetti flew at her from every angle, and a dozen voices cheered. Oscar watched it all with confused interest.

Her entire extended family was packed into the living room; George, grandpa, Uncle Shepard was on the couch with his wife and daughter, Aunt Edie stood near them. Even Allie and Kristopher were there, along with a few of her mothers' friends that she didn't know very well. She laughed in disbelief, looking around the room at all the familiar- and a few unfamiliar- faces. One was notably missing.

Her mothers rushed over to hug her, and for what seemed like the first time ever she let herself enjoy it. Everyone took turns welcoming her back, hugging her, shoving gifts into her arms. For a few hours she relaxed, enjoyed the attention. There was food and cake, and only a few people asked her when she was going to 'get a real job.'

As the afternoon wore on and everyone tired themselves out, Judy found Tali alone in the kitchen, tidying up.

"Thanks for doing this," she said. Somehow she knew Tali was the mastermind, and the mischievous smile she got in return told her she was right. "It's good to be back…. But, um. I was wondering-"

"We did invite Jess," Tali confirmed. "I went over there and invited her in person. I'm sorry, Judy. She doesn't leave the house much anymore."

Pangs of guilt like pinpricks. Her stomach twisted and she headed for the back door almost involuntarily.

"I think I'm going to go over there?" Judy said, hovering near the door.

"I think that's a good idea," Tali agreed, sensing the uncertainty. "She could really use a friend right now."

"She could have used a friend the last 5 years," Judy sighed. "Anyway, I'm an asshole. I'll be back."

With that she left the party behind and crossed the cracked, dusty street. It was familiar. Comforting. Nerve wracking at the same time.

When she knocked on the door, her heart hammered along in her chest. The evening sun blinded her, left her feeling vulnerable. When the door opened, her heart nearly beat out of her chest and her stomach did happy, nervous flips.

For a moment, neither of them spoke; just watched each other apprehensively.

"Come in," Jess said simply, stepping aside and closing the door behind Judy.

The last time she'd been there the place was bare; 5 years later it hardly looked better. The furniture had all been replaced with the cheapest, plainest versions possible and there was nothing else. It was silent except for the old air conditioner running roughly in the window.

At Jess' invitation, Judy sat awkwardly on the couch, looked around. She was wrong; there was one decoration. A vase of dead, dried out jungle flowers. They'd been sat on a small table in the hallway and seemingly hadn't been touched since.

"Thank you for those," Jess said quietly, sitting next to Judy and forcing a smile. "They made this place just a little brighter for a while."

"How have you been?" Judy asked. Looking around, it was like she already knew. The house barely looked lived in, as if the person in it hadn't done much of anything for years.

"Ok," Jess replied. "Working a lot. They took me back and promoted me, a few times. I'm clawing my way up."

"Have you talked to Christie?" Judy continued, and Jess' eyes lit up as she nodded.

"We've gone out for lunch a few times," she said. "Her father wasn't completely honest with her about… well, anything. We're patching things up, slowly."

"Jess, that's great," Judy said, reaching over and placing a hand on Jess' back. "I mean everything sounds great, but… you seem kind of down. Is something wrong?"

Jess hesitated, looked around the empty house, looked at Judy.

"I don't know," she said. "I think so. Everything's coming together. My career, and my family. I've made actual friends, at the gym… Dylan is a lost cause but that's probably for the best. I don't know, I just don't feel..." She trailed off helplessly, and Judy nodded.

"It's ok," she said. "I know what you mean. Listen… I'm back now, possibly for good? For a while at least. If you want to watch a movie or go on a road trip or wander the desert, I'm up for anything. I miss you, Jess."

Her eyes welled up as Jess smiled a tiny, shy smile.

"I miss you too, Judy," she said softly. She leaned over, bumped Judy's shoulder with hers. "I'd like to hear about all the trouble you made in Selvadorada sometime. I'm meeting Christie for dinner soon, but I'll be in touch. We'll set something up?"

Judy nodded, but her gut told her it would be a while before she heard from Jess again.

"Seriously, anything," she reiterated as they stood and made their way to the front door. "If you want to stay in and just talk, we can do that. If you'd rather go out, let's go out. Your choice."

"I promise, we'll do something soon," Jess said. Judy stepped onto the porch and looked back at the woman lingering in the doorway, smiling fondly. "It's so good to see your face again, Judy. You don't know how much I missed you."

Judy laughed breathlessly, struck by sharp blue eyes softly going over her face, taking in and memorizing every detail. For a second, she struggled for words, her voice stuck in her chest with her nervously pounding heart.

"I saw so many beautiful things, exploring the jungle," she finally stuttered out. "I could have dreamed about anything; ancient ruins, perfectly preserved artifacts, grottos and waterfalls… I could have dreamed about _anything_ but I always seemed to dream about you. Is that weird?" Jess laughed, leaned against the doorway. Her eyes sparkled.

"A little," she said bluntly. "But you know… I'll overlook it, because I dreamed about you sometimes too. I'll be in touch, Judy, I promise."

And as Judy descended the steps and made her way back across the street, feeling Jess' eyes on her back, her heart shook off the dust and glowed brightly in the way only Jess could make it glow.

* * *

Jess wasn't in touch. Disappointment hung over Judy like a cloud every morning when her eyes slid open. Weeks passed. She moved out of her parents' home into a trailer across town. She settled into a comfortable routine of waking up, checking her phone, fighting off nauseous disappointment and getting herself and Oscar ready for a long day of adventuring in the desert. Old lost valuables, interesting rocks, bugs… whatever Judy could find that could be of worth, she brought back to her trailer to examine. Anything of significance, she donated to the library. Anything interesting, she sold online. It was a reasonably comfortable existence, and a month passed before she knew it.

She had hoped some distance between her and Jess' house would keep her mind off of her, but Jess seemed to be everywhere, in everything she did. Being back in Strangerville flooded her mind with memories; how many times had they walked past this trailer on their way to Old Penelope? The stuffed coolala sat in a windowsill, forever staring out at the desert landscape as if watching for something. Someone. It was torture, and in some ways Judy had given up, but she knew if Jess were to emerge from the desert she would drop everything and run right to her. Her heart called out restlessly, and one night as she sat at her table typing up a report on her most recent findings in the desert, it got an answer.

Oscar's ears perked up, and he lifted his head, sniffed the air. Judy watched him curiously as he stood and ran out of his pet door, barking playfully.

She stood up, looked out the window; he ran up to Jess, his tail a happy blur as he ran circles around her, hopping excitedly, sniffing her outstretched hands. Her hair, long and flowing, hung around her face and down her back. Judy watched as she knelt in the sand, scratched his head, laughing as he kissed her face.

Judy smiled to herself and stepped onto her front porch, waiting for Jess to notice. She did, and stood hastily.

"Hi," she said. She stood still, straight, arms crossed nervously behind her. Judy walked down the steps; Oscar excitedly ran back and forth between the two of them, making small happy noises.

"What are you doing here?" Judy asked, and Jess took a deep, nervous breath.

"I've been... a little lost these last few years," she said in a shaky voice. "I've had a lot of time to think, and every time it comes back to… what am I doing? And what kind of life would I be living without my best friend?" Her voice faltered, cracked, her eyes filled with tears. Judy softened and closed the distance, reaching for Jess' hands and holding them in hers. "I feel like we've wasted so much time already. I don't even know if… if you still want me, or if you're over it or-"

"Jess…" Judy squeezed her hands, smiled softly at her, pulled her closer. They laughed together, leaned together until their foreheads touched. Judy reached up and ran her fingers lightly through Jess' hair. She closed her eyes and tried to calm the sudden flurry of butterflies in her stomach as Jess' arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her even closer.

And when Jess' lips touched hers, the butterflies exploded, a whirlwind out of control, filling her whole body and lifting her spirits. She felt she could see her whole life ahead of her; a sky full of stars born from the meeting of their lips, a thousand new suns, millions of new lives, a sky full of new constellations. She felt Jess smile against her lips, and she laughed, kissed her again. Someday they would go out and explore strange new vistas together but for the moment, with her feet rooted in the Strangerville sand and Jess in her arms, she finally felt that she was home, and that home wasn't such a bad place to be.


End file.
